The Strongest Ties
by Sylvannastar
Summary: Kagome never gets a break! Now, she is fighting demons on both sides of the well! And not all of them are enemies...a Xover with YYH and a KagKur (Chapter 60 up)
1. The New Girl

Part One: The Very Long Day

The New Girl

"Hey, Kurama!" Boton waved energetically from the corner where she waited with Yusuke and Keiko. 

Kurama raised one hand in greeting. However, his vivid green eyes never faultered from their inspection of the girl walking about ten feet ahead of him. There was something about her...

When they saw that he was not moving in their direction they altered their own route to intercept him at the next corner.

He felt his lips pull up at the corners in the ghost of a smile as he slowed his steps so that the others could catch up to him. He brushed a strand of his red hair from his eyes and considered the girl that was steadily getting farther and farther away from him. 

"Hey." Yusuke grunted his greeting. He was never much of a morning person. 

Kurama said nothing but nodded to his friends. Boton and Keiko chirped and giggled about all the nonsense that girls go on about and he tried to ignore them. 

After a few moments of strained silence, Kurama noticed that they were asking him a question. He glanced at Yusuke sideways for help but the spirit detective was dragging his feet and yawning wide enough to inform him that he was paying even less attention than Kurama himself had been.

He sighed and gave in to the inevitable. "My apologies. What were you saying?"

Keiko covered her mouth with her hand and giggled again. He ignored it and continued his pursual of the dark haired girl in front of them. Her ebony hair was long and fell in natural waves down to the small of her back. He had not seen her face yet. His eyes narrowed.

"I said," Boton began,"Why are you so quiet?" She smiled up at him, hoping to catch his attention.

"Huh?" Yusuke rubbed his eyes. "Kurama is always quiet."

"..."

"Well, Kurama?" Keiko said.

He bit back a sigh and tilted his head forward to indicate the object of his attention for the last ten minutes. They all followed his gaze and spotted the girl now thirty feet away. Yusuke was the first to react.

The look on his face said it all. "Oooohhoo, I see! Who is she?" The gleam in his eyes coupled with the sickly sweet smile on his face was disgusting. 

"I don't know."

They looked confused. Kurama took mercy on his friends and explained himself.

"There is something about the girl I can't place. Something different... Boton, do you know her?"

"If you are asking if she is from spirit world then I don't know. I've haven't had any calls lately. Do you think she is a demon?" Boton sized the girl up from where they were and seemed skeptical.

"No. But still, I have a sense..." he stopped, uncertain what he was feeling coming from the girl. "What do you see, Yusuke?"

Yusuke seemed awake now and peered at the figure in front of them. "Nice legs."

Keiko swung her bag at the back of his head and glared daggers but he dodged it.

"Seriously, she can't be a demon. She seems to be really pissed off, though."

Kurama smiled at that and continued his careful watching. Pissed off was an understatement.

She was practically burning with rage.

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Kagome was livid. She had just returned from another round of fighting and adventuring in the _Sengoku Jidai _with Inuyasha and the others last night. When she arrived home she found that her school had arranged to transfer her. Yeah, her grades were suffering and so, she missed a few days...but to make her change schools in her junior year of high school was cruel. Kagome kicked a crack in the sidewalk angrily. 

It was hard to keep up when she was spending most of her time and energy into traveling back five hundred years in the past to fix the Shikon Jewel. It wasn't fair. Kagome slumped her shoulders in defeat and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her finger and thumb. _It could be worse_, she thought. _They could have expelled me long ago_. 

_So now, here I am, fighting demons, fighting myself for the love of an idiot, fighting to save the world...or the past world, and now I have to fight to keep myself in school again_. Kagome wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or scream. Since she was determined to do neither, she clutched her backpack tighter to her chest and continued toward the new school she was being forced to go to now. Getting used to a new school was not something she was ready to handle right now. Things in the past were finally coming to a close. Naraku was close, and there were only a few more jewel shards left to collect. She seemed to have little choice, and Inuyasha was not going to be understanding. When he came back to get her she wasn't going to be able to leave right away. _Oh Kami! _She thought _This is going to be a long day._

She tugged at the hem of her forest green skirt and lamented the color and six inches that kept it from matching the uniforms of the other girls she would be attending class with. There hadn't been time to get a new uniform. She was going to stand out bad enough as it was, being a new student. She felt herself growing angry again, at the injustice of it all. She glared at the sidewalk in front of her oblivious to the strange looks she was getting from behind her.

Then, the slightest tingling in her mind made her stop in the center of the walkway. _A Youkai?_

Kagome turned her face toward to trees at her left and looked around. It had been faint, a flash really, but she was sure there had been something if only for a moment. The trees were empty. She tilted her head to the side hoping to catch a remnant of the power she had felt. When nothing else happened, she shrugged and walked on. "Baka.." 

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When the girl stopped suddenly, so did the four walking behind her.

Hiei vanished from the trees just as she turned her head to inspect them. After a quiet moment, she continued on.

"Now I'm interested." Yusuke said.

Everyone else stared at her departing figure.

Hiei appeared next to him with a genuinely surprised look on his face. "Did that human sense me coming?" 

Kurama watched as she turned the corner with a flick of her skirt. "Indeed. I believe she did." 

"She's headed toward our school." Keiko supplied after looking around the corner.

"Maybe I had better go talk to Koenma..."Boton said.

"Let's wait." Yusuke quickened his step, for once content to go to school. "It may be nothing at all. Perhaps she is just sensitive to spirit energy like Kuwabara."

"Not a chance. I was masking my energies." Hiei glowered. "You didn't feel me coming and you are trained to be able to do that sort of thing." 

"Well anyway, we can watch her in the school. Hiei, you make sure she doesn't leave unexpectedly." Yusuke stopped outside the school grounds and without waiting for an answer, he split apart from the others to follow the only spot of green in a sea of pale blue. Hiei growled but vanished to a post across the street. Despite himself, he was interested too.

Kurama watched the drama with interest and thought about the slender form he had been following all morning. _Something about her..._he walked casually in the other direction from Yusuke and made his way to the senior hall. Being a year older than the others in his human form would give him access to more opportunities than the others to find out who the girl was. He kept his hands in his pockets while avoiding the masses of girls and young men that always seemed to be hanging out in front of his classrooms. He knew exactly where to go. 

Kurama stationed himself near the office just as the principal walked by with the new girl. He knew that he wouldn't be missed because of the unique color and length of his hair. And he was well liked for his reserved manner and respectable attitude to the teachers and staff while keeping perfect grades and near perfect attendance. It was simple.

"Ah! Here is someone perfect for showing you around, Miss Higurashi." Kurama tried to look innocently away. "Shuuichi-san," the principle called. "If you have a moment?"

Kurama turned slowly when his human name was called and prepared himself to look at the girl he had been following. He wasn't as prepared as he thought he had been.

Two beautiful eyes of blue and grey blinked up into his own green ones. Her hair was delightfully rumpled in appearance and her face was flushed slightly in embarrassment. Her full mouth was parted slightly as she looked up into his eyes and seemingly into his very soul. She was beautiful.

Kurama almost stopped breathing. 

"Shuuichi, this is Higurashi Kagome. She will be joining our school for the remainder of her junior and senior year. I would appreciate if you could show her around. I will of course write out passes for you to miss your first few classes."

Kurama stared and had to shake himself to turn his attention back to the principle. "Of course. I will be happy to escort Miss Higurashi around." He smiled confidently at her.

From the corner of his eye he saw Yusuke stalk past and do a double take when he saw the girl from the front. Kurama was pleased that he wasn't the only one affected by the new girl but he would never show it. Then he noticed that all the boys in the hall were openly staring and a few were even rudely pointing. He glanced at her and saw the embarrassed flush in her cheeks grow.

"Shall we go?" he was surprised to hear how normal his voice sounded. He held an arm out for her which she looked at dazed. After flicking her eyes up to his once more with hesitation, she accepted his arm and he walked her away from the gathering mob that threatened to clog the hall ways.

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Kagome was mortified. There were students here that seemed to have no qualms about singling her out and talking about her as if she were not standing less then three feet from them. And this guy...Kagome sneaked a peek from under her lashes at the boy who was escorting her around as if she were important. His red hair contrasted with his pale features and startling green eyes. He reminded her of the strange beauty of the youkai lords that seemed to have an inner light that glowed from within them. He reminded her of Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's half brother. Beautiful, deadly, magnificent...powerful.

She realized she was staring when he turned his head and his eyes met hers again and held. She was unsure what to say...what to do. She caught a movement from the corner of her eye and saw the figure of a guy that had been following her since she had arrived in the building. His orange hair was short and coarse compared to the angel walking beside her. He was tall and muscled and very bad at pretending he wasn't following her. She sighed.

Kurama felt his gaze pulled down to her mouth when she sighed. No one had ever captivated him this way before. It wasn't just him. Youko was just as effected and the combination of human and youkai sensation at one time was confusing. It took him a moment to realize she was speaking to him.

"Umm," Kagome hadn't been given his full name and was hesitant to call him by his first name. 

"Shuuichi." he supplied.

Her sudden smile lit her face and caused him to catch his breath again. "Shuuichi-san," she agreed. "Who is that boy?" She pointed at the tall figure crouched rather uselessly behind a water fountain. 

Kurama hesitated before answering. She glanced at him and blushed. "He's been following me since I got here. It's rather...unnerving."

She worried her lower lip between her teeth and ducked behind him a bit. He smiled slowly. "That is Kuwabara, a junior here. Do not worry about him. He's harmless." She seemed skeptical and kept him between them until they passed. "Shall I show you the school grounds or would you like to familiarize yourself with your classes first?" he stopped walking. "They have given you a schedule?" 

"Oh, yes. Here it is."

Kurama glanced at the schedule. She had two classes with him and three it seemed with various others of the _Reiki Tentai _Team. The two they shared were honors courses in Mythology and History. Her Math class she would be sharing with Yusuke. Not a subject that the boy needed a distraction in...

Kurama smiled and began talking about the school, the people and activities. When he asked a question, she evaded direct answers easily. Kurama decided to let her get more comfortable with him before asking anything more of her. 

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Kagome was so nervous she wanted nothing more then to go home and face the angry hanyou she knew would be waiting for her. The school seemed mostly unfriendly with the exception of her escort and the principle. 

She looked at Shuuichi again and wondered about the strange powers she felt in him. He was definitely human...but there was something else...like he was two separate people. He caught her staring again. _If I keep this up he's going to get the wrong idea._

She looked ahead and watched in disbelief as the boy called Kuwabara ducked into a door frame to lean obviously around it and stare at her. A girl with blue hair suddenly came up behind him and smacked him in the back of the head. He jumped as she dragged him into the room. Kagome sighed in relief. The guy was creepy. 

Kagome knew that she should have been enjoying the company of such a polite and refined guy, but there were so many things on her mind right now she couldn't focus on the things he was telling her. 

Her life was a mess. All her hard work at saving the world with her friends, from a tarnished jewel that could grant evil Youkai extraordinary powers and from the ambitions of the deadly Naraku, would not help her here in her own time. In fact, she couldn't keep up with her school work and was failing some of her subjects...like math. She glowered at the floor. 

Kagome knew that no college was going to accept her if she couldn't pull her grades up and actually attend school. By saving the past, she was ruining her future. Well, her present was already shot all to hell. Kagome sighed again. The lives that would be saved because of what she was doing was worth it, though. So many lives...

Kurama kept talking even though he realized that she was focused on things other than her surroundings. He watched her eyes and saw the changes in emotion flit across her features. Her expression was one of intense determination and her eyes were full of sadness. Her eyes were wise and old. It was if she had seen and done more in her few years then he had in his last four hundred. 

She was a mystery he had every intention of solving. The Kitsune loved puzzles. It was in his nature. 

Kurama timed the tour to end just as their history class began. He walked her into the room and showed her to an empty seat next to his own. He bowed slightly to the professor and allowed him to introduce the girl to the class. Then the dreaded "tell us something about yourself"...

He was very interested in what she would say without appearing to be interested at all.

Kagome had prepared for this. Somehow she managed to say something with out saying anything at all.

Kurama smiled. She was good. The games would begin now. 

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The First Rotten Day

Kagome crossed her eyes and looked at the sheet of paper the teacher had just handed her. It still didn't make sense. The numbers and formulas swam in her vision as she gripped the paper and mourned her lack of skill in the subject. Algebra was so tough for her...

The tall orange haired boy and the shorter dark haired boy with so much gel in his hair that he looked like he was wearing a helmet, were sitting to her left. The had been whispering and staring since Shuuichi had walked her over when the class started. She ignored them. They were obviously just as dumb as her to be stuck in this class. She heaved another sigh. She seemed to be doing that quite a bit today. At least class was almost over and lunch was coming up. 

_Then again, that might not be such a good thing..._she remembered the stares and looks she had been getting from other students. She was getting a headache. 

Class ended and to her surprise, Shuuichi arrived at the door to greet her. He smiled at her charmingly. She was immediately suspicious. No one was that good. Not even Hojo. This guy was Inuyasha's exact opposite. Kagome found herself unsure how to react to him.

"I know you don't know anybody yet, so I thought I might introduce you to a few of my friends. You can eat lunch with us if you like." Kurama offered. 

There were people already in the hall looking in at her. She gulped and nodded. At least he was somewhat familiar. 

"Well, then." He smiled. "I guess I can start with the two gentlemen behind you."

Kagome didn't turn around. She knew who was behind her. The two staring oafs were breathing down her neck. The strange tingling was back, but not as strong as the feeling she had that morning. _Stop imagining things, Kagome. There are not youkai everywhere you go._

"Kuwabara and Yusuke, meet Kagome Higurashi."

She felt the tall guy take her hand in his and look at her seriously. He seemed to be looking for something. She murmured a polite response and pulled her hand away.

Yusuke, when she looked at him, took her by surprise. He was kinda cute under the hair helmet and if you looked past the angst-ridden features. 

"Yo." 

It was such an Inuyasha-like greeting she smiled the first real smile of warmth that day. She stopped herself from laughing when he jerked back in surprise. 

Kurama watched the smile with interest. Perhaps he had found the first lever to pull information from the girl. A puzzle indeed!

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Lunch was strained and silent. Boton and Keiko had seemed very pleased to meet her but Kagome was too aware of the strange tension in the air that thrummed around them, to open up to anyone. One of the girls had a strange feel to her, too.

The thick atmosphere only intensified when Kagome continued to stare across the street after Boton asked what she was looking at. "I just feel like I'm being watched." Kagome blushed.

It was stupid, she knew, because she was being watched from about every direction by various students. Why something across the street should bother her was unexplainable. Her new friends exchanged looks.

Kagome was surprised when Boton excused herself and left them. She hoped she hadn't driven anyone away. 

Kagome was miserable.

Across the street, Hiei glared in their direction. Damn, if he didn't want to be part of the group right now instead of sulking in the trees. And he was sulking. The girl was looking right at him. He knew he was too far away for them to actually see him and he had doubled his efforts to hide his energy signals. 

He should be invisible. Hiei was frustrated. He should kill her. Instead, he sat alone playing the waiting game.

The day was going to be a long one.

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Kagome shared her next class with Keiko and it was actually pleasant. She felt she may have found a friend in the girl. For all her youthful enthusiasm, Keiko was not naive. Kagome liked her enough to loosen up and relax for the duration of the class. There was nothing strange, perverted, or unexplainable about the girl except her friends. 

Kagome shook her head. That was the most unlikely group of people she had ever met...well, with the exception of her own friends in the past. Sango was a demon exterminator, Miroku was a monk and a pervert, Shippo was a kitsune child, Kirara was a demon cat, and Inuyasha was half human, half dog demon. And she was a girl from the future, born as the reincarnation of a past Miko that had loved and died for Inuyasha. She was also the reason the Jewel of Four Souls was broken. 

_Maybe it wasn't so strange to see such variety in a group of friends..._she mused. Kagome said goodbye to Keiko and made her way to her last class. She knew she would practically sleep through this. Mythology was easy. She lived it when she went through the well into the past. 

Kagome hesitated at the door and found Shuuichi already present. It appeared he had saved her a seat. _Why is he being so nice? _The boy made her nervous. She was starting to get the impression he was playing some kind of game. There was just the sense that she was missing some pertinent information that he knew. She frowned.

Kurama blinked. Here he was being as charming as he could politely be and she frowned at him. _She smiled for Yusuke... _he thought. _perhaps, if she can sense Hiei so easily, she can also sense Youko. _

It was Kurama's turn to frown. Was _she_ playing games with _him_?! 

The answers were not there and he found himself distracted through the rest of class.

Kagome was distracted as well but not by the class or the students around her. She was beginning to feel some sort of unease that something was wrong. Something was going to happen soon. Something terrible and dark. Kagome shivered and determined to watch her back. She wanted to be back home. Even if it did mean facing the angry half demon.

As soon as the bell rang, Kagome sang out a quick thank you to the red haired boy. Before he had even been able to gather all his things together, she was already flying out the door. So much for walking her home...Kurama walked thoughtfully out to meet the others. Maybe Boton was back from Koenma's. Maybe she had some answers. 


	2. A Lack of Information

This is for xover lovers! It will be Kag/Kur!

YYH and IY are not mine...

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A Lack of Information

Yusuke stuffed his hands into his pockets and rolled his eyes. "So what you are saying is that you have no clue who the girl is."

"Exactly." 

"Figures."

Boton saw Koenma's eye twitch and decided to step in. "There is absolutely no record of this girl. She has never been a threat or we would know something about her. What did you find out, Kurama? You spent quite a bit more time with her then any of us." Koenma's childish face lost its pout.

"Her name is Higarashi Kagome and she just transferred to our school." He smiled wryly. "I probably wouldn't have learned that if the principle hadn't said it. She wasn't very forthcoming."

"All that charm didn't get you anywhere this time, huh?" Yusuke snickered.

Kurama shot him a look.

"She lives at a shrine about twenty minutes walk from here." Hiei said. They looked at him. "I followed her energy trail with my Jagon." 

"So that's it?"

Seven seconds of silence later...

"Since you seem so intent on finding a new case, I brought you one." Koenma said.

Everyone looked back up at the gigantic floating face.

"Good. I was getting bored." Yusuke punched his fist into the palm of his other hand. "What do you got?"

Koenma faded to be replaced by a huge vision of a dark, muscle bound demon. It's claws and horns were as dark as its thick hide. Only its eyes and teeth gleamed brightly. It was hideous.

"Looks like a troll." Kuwabara mumbled.

"When have you ever seen a troll?" Hiei crossed his arms.

"I've seen movies, shrimp!" Kuwabara yelled.

"That explains it." Hiei's smile was malicious at best.

"Hey!"

"It's not a troll," Kurama sighed.

"No, it's a shadow demon." Koenma explained from somewhere above them. "They are large and strong, but suprizingly stupid."

"Sounds familair." Stated Hiei looking at Kuwabara from the corner of his eyes. He didn't take the bait this time.

"They are also very difficult to catch and even harder to keep once you have them." Koenma felt a headache coming on. He replaced the image of the youkai with his own enlarged appearence again.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked.

"A shadow demon can move through shadows. If it steps into one shadow it can move to any other shadow in sight. It can even use your own shadow to slip through. The only way to truely capture it is to keep it in full light." Koenma glanced around. The city streets were full of shadows and flickering lights. "That is why it came here."

"So how are we suposed to find this thing?" Yusuke asked.

Koenma shrank down to his normal toddler size and floated above them. "It eats spirit energy. It will be drawn to sources of high spiritual power so it may, in fact, find you."

Kuwabara flinched and stepped gingerly around the shadow of a mail bow. Then he noticed his own elongated shadow moving behind him. He tried walking backwards to keep an eye on it.

"Baka." Hiei said.

"Alright, this should keep us busy for a few days at least." Yusuke sounded cheerful.

Koenma faded a bit and then grew large again.

"Don't underestimate your opponent, Yusuke."

Yusuke snorted. "If it is stupid enough to come looking for us, I doubt it will pose much of a challenge."

"We'll see. It should be getting hungry soon. It's been out for two days now."

"You waited two days to give us this case!?" Yusuke yelled.

"Did you feel that?" Kuwabara asked but no one was listening to him.

"Quit yelling! You're causing a scene!" Boton tried to hush him.

"Yeah right. As if a floating toddler hasn't already done that." Yusuke said pointing a finger up at Koenma.

"No one else can see me, Baka!" Koenma hollared back.

"I wouldn't count on that." Kurama's quiet voice broke in.

"Huh?" Yusuke and Koenma said together.

Standing on the corner in a pool of sunshine, was Kagome. She glanced in disbelief at them, at Koenma, and at them again.

Hiei jerked to attention. The angry look in his eyes was replaced by startlement. He hadn't been close enough to see her face before. He had missed out. He glowered.

"Wow." Koenma said.

She seemed to be weighing her options. She looked them over and glared. Then she shot a quick look over her shoulder and without any more hesitation, dashed across the street and down an alley.

"That was her." Boton said weakly as the sound of the girls footsteps echoed away.

" I think we scared her. Should we follow after her?" Kuwabara asked.

"Hmmm...Let me see if I can gather any other information on the girl first." Koenma rubbed his hand together gleefully and disappeared.

Suddenly, the sound of running footseteps grew louder as someone came running back down the alley she had just disappeared into. Kagome burst back into view. She sprinted right for them her eyes wide and determined.

Kagome gasped for breath and kept right on running. All those strange people she had met today, except for Keiko, and one guy she did not know were still standing in the middle of the path. She raised her arms and waved them away. "Run, you idiots!" she yelled.

They stared at the girl about to run them over in disbelief. When she told them to run, they glanced at one another for explainations no one had.


	3. The Shadow Youkai

I own nothing...But someday, I will have my own series published! 

I can only hope it will be as interesting as some of the things I have read...sigh...Please no Flames. I write only for my own enjoyment and share only because I what to repay those of you who write for others! Yeah, I'm a selfish bastard!

Sylvannastar

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The Shadow Youkai

She was right in front of them running full out.

"She isn't stopping." Boton said with worry.

"Run, Dammit!" She flew past, ducking under the arm Kuwabara had suddenly flung out in an attempt to catch her. They just stood there dumbfounded as she ran away from them for the second time.

Kagome kept running, ignoring the stitch in her side, and turned the corner. Somehow the damn thing had gotten ahead of her again! She turned back, retreating the way she had just come.

"She's comming back." Kuwabara said in disbelief.

"She's insane!" Yusuke said.

They stepped together to block her way. The girl skidded to a halt seconds before crashing into the tall figure she knew as Shuuichi and a short man dressed in black.

"What is wrong with you people!?" she shouted. The looked at her in amazement.

"Us? You are the crazy one!" Yusuke yelled back.

"Umm...Are you okay?" the blue haired girl asked reaching out a hand.

Kagome's eyes flashed blue fire in anger. "Me!? I'm not the one standing in the center of the path talking to floating heads in the sky! When there are-" She looked up. "You! I knew there was something weird about you!" She shouted poking a finger into Kurama's chest.

Kurama looked at he affending finger calmly. Then he caught her hand in his and looked at her. "Perhaps we can help you-"

Kagome cut him off with a short burst of desparate laughter and pulled her hand away. "I only wish you could!"

She backed up and looked around nervously.

"She's gonna run again" Hiei whispered quietly to Kurama. He nodded once to indicate that he had heard.

Kagome only took one step when the way was blocked by the dark form.

She spun around and suddenly he was there too. She growled at him and tried to surprize him by feigning to the right. It didn't work.

Her chest heaved and her legs shook with exhaustion. She pressed her hand to her side and glared harder at the guy. He was not intimidated, but then, neither was she.

Kagome remained tense and watchful.

"Who are you?" Yusuke demanded forcefully.

"You already know who I am." They were all lined up against her now. She looked them all over carefully. When her eyes returned back to Yusuke, they widened in terror and shock. It was here...behind the boy...And she didn't have her arrows or Inuyasha around. 

Yusuke blinked and smiled knowingly. She must have just realized who he was.

She started running again but this time she ran right into him and shoved him as hard as she could to the side. The move had been completely unexpected and sent everyone stumbling aside.

Kagome broke through the line and found herself face to face with a set of gleaming pointed teeth. "Oh, shit."

Kuwabara yelped and crab walked backwards. The others regained their balence and scattered. Hiei drew his sword and crouched down. Yusuke lept back up and stared. "Where the hell did that thing come from?!"

"Caught you," the monster smiled at the girl.

Kagome gulped and felt her blood drain to her feet.

Kagome was inches away from death and no one could attack without hitting her too.

"RUN!" Kurama yelled at her. 

"She was. hehehehe! Until you stopped her. hehehe..." The monster almost giggled.

Kagome dived to the side but wasn't fast enough. One massive, clawed hand tore open her side and skattered her blood across the sidewalk. She rolled to her feet and clutched the wound.

The monster grinned and faded into the shadow.

"Where did it go?" Yusuke yelled.

"There!" Kuwabara pointed to their right.

Kagome ducked another swipe and fell to her knees. The clang of metal on scaled hide and a flash of movement caught her attention. Suddenly she was yanked up by strong arms and flung out of the way in a dizzying spin. The monster laughed and faded again.

Kagome found her balence and thanked the man at her side breathlessly. Hiei glanced at her and caught her eyes. What he saw there suprized him. Anger, determination, pain, concern...she was so easy to read! She pulled away from the grip that he had not realized he still had on her. Suddenly, from under their feet, a clawed hand knocked Hiei away. He lept back into the fight, but again the beast was gone. 

Kurama flung his rose whip at the demon's arm as it reached for Kagome again. It pulled taught and went limp just as suddenly, as the youkai vanished once more into the shadows. He wound his whip back up with a flick of his wrist and waited patiently for the monster to show itself again.

Why was it after the girl?

Kagome sidestepped and jumped before any of the others knew it was preparing to grab her again. It missed.

"Get out of here!" Kagome panted. They didn't even look at her. "Go! I don't want anyone hurt!" she pleaded.

"No way, girl." Yusuke growled. "I haven't even gotten a single hit in yet."

"Me neither." Kuwabara held his glowing spirit sword in front of him.

"I'll take care of this!" SHe sounded desperate.

"Oh yeah? How?" He snapped.

Kagome wanted to "sit" him but he wasn't Inuyasha no matter how like him he sounded.

"I'll think of something!" She whispered.

"Just try staying alive, human." Hiei said.

"Youkai stubborness!" SHe hissed back at him.

Hiei faultered in his step. _She knows I'm Youkai?_

A massive hand shot out of the dark about ten feet away from them. The guys charged in unthinking. Boton and Kagome were now exposed and the demon vanished again.

"SHIT!" Yusuke turned around in time to see Kagome caught.

From her own shadow on the ground, the beast spung up and grabbed Kagome. She gasped as the monster's fist enfolded her and pressed painfully on her wounded side.

"Kukukukuku. I win!" The demon pulled her up and let her legs dangle off the ground.

"Not...yet...you..."Kagome gasped as the monster's hold tightend. "...haven't."

"Kukuku" he brought her closer to his massive jaws. "What do you think you can do now? Kukuku"

"_THIS!_" Kagome flung up her hands and pressed them to the demon's face. The blue glow of her Miko powers swirled brightly before exploding in a burst of white light.

The oni yelled while every one covered thier blinded eyes. When they could see again, Kagome was laying on the ground, unconcious. The moster was gone. Well, most of it was gone. A few stray fragments were scattered around the girl.

"What the hell just happened?!" Yusuke demanded.

Kurama ran to the girl's side and lifted her into his lap. "Boton!" he yelled to hurry her up.

"Oh!" she ran over and pulled the scraps of cloth away from the wound. "It's-it's already begining to heal!" She glanced at the woman's sleeping face. "I can't use my powers! There is a barrier on her!"

"Who, for Kami's sake, is this girl?" Yusuke asked again.

No one had an answer. At least, no one concious did.

Koenma appeared above them. "What did I miss?"


	4. Taken Captive

If you can't tell, This is going to be a very long story! And I WILL finish it. Since I type slow, remember that I will probably be posting in large chunks and have long spaces between...

I do not Own IY or YYH

Can you tell I love character interactions!?

Taken Captive

Hiei looked down at the girl bleeding all over Kurama.

"My Yukina could heal her." Kuwabara offered.

Hiei growled.

"I doubt it, if Boton can't get past the barrier spell-"

"It's not a spell, Koenma-sir." Boton said. "It's a natural barrier."

They digested this a moment, at a loss for what to do.

"Here." Hiei stripped off his overshirt and pressed it to the ragged wound. Kagome's eyes fluttered open with the increased pain. She tried to push him away with a weak hand. Her eyes were deep blue with pain and unshed tears.

"G'way..." she said softly, closing her eyes again.

"No."

She pried one eyelid back open to glare at him. She mummbled something else he didn't catch. Suddenly both eyes snapped up when she realized someone was holding her. Suichi's upsidedown face peered at her in concern.

She closed her eyes again. "How much worse can my day get?" she wondered out loud as she lay there bleeding over the one guy who had been so nice to her. 

With her eyes closed she missed the stunned and hurt expression on the boy's face.

Hiei chuckled. Her eyes popped back open to glare at the fire demon again. He grinned.

Kagome groaned. "What ever you find amusing here, please feel free to share. God knows, I could use a good laugh."

"Girl-" Koenma's childish voice pushed Boton aside.

"Oh, it's the floating baby..." Kagome whispered as she slipped back into unconciousness.

"WHAT!?"

"WHAaaahahahahahah!" Yusuke laughed. Koenma pouted.

"What do we do with her now?" Boton asked.

"Stop the bleeding."

"I'm trying." Hiei growled.

"We need to get her out of sight," Kurama said. "We will not be able to explain our way out of this if we are caught here."

He lifted her into his arms while Hiei tried to re-adjust the pressure he was applying to the wound.

"We can take her to my place." Kuwabara said. "Shizuru is home. She can help."

"Too far." Kurama judged.

"Well your place _is _closest." Yusuke told him.

"Hn." Hiei agreed.

Boton filled Koenma in on what happened. "I missed all that in five minutes?" He looked at the girl draped in the arms of the fox spirit. "And she defeated the shadow demon alone?" he mused.

She had a power like none I've ever felt before." Kurama commented.

"Yeah, it was strange." Kuwabara said. "But it wasn't like demon energy at all. This was pure..."

"Pure..." Koenma repeated, thinking.

"Look, she's bleeding all over me now, too." Hiei reminded them. He sounded disgusted.

They hurried to Kurama's.

**************************************************************************************************

Kagome cracked her eyes open with great effort. She was in a strange bed, in a strange room, wearing strange clothes...she felt...strange. The day had indeed got worse. "Where am I now?" she wondered resigned.

Her side screamed in pain as she turned over in an attempt to roll to the edge of the bed she was in. It made her dizzy. She sat on the bed clutching her head in her hand, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

When she finally managed to stand up, she had to clutch the dressor for support. She inched her way around the wall until she reached the door frame and pushed the door open.

A long hallway was revealed. Along the walls were various pictures of a red-haired child and a woman with dark hair. A mother and child that aged in appearance as she moved toward the sound of voices at the other end of the house. Suichi's house if the pictures were anything to go by.

Kagome made it to the doorway that led into the living room where everyone from earlier that day sat, sprawled or stood talking.

They were all facing the other direction except the child but he was too short to see her sillouette framed in the dark passage that her trembling legs had strived to stumble down. 

"So we aren't going to tell her _anything_?" Kuwabara whined. "Don't seem fair. I mean, if we expect her to tell us everything, shouldn't we return the favor?" His sense of fair play was paining him.

"We can't tell her anything about spirit world. It could turn into a disaster if others knew."

_Spirit world? _Kagome frowned.

"She wouldn't believe us anyway." Yusuke said.

"I think you underestimate the girl," Kurama said from his position by the wall. "She obviously has some experience with spirit energy and youkai."

"Yes, but the question is what experience? How much does she know? and why?" Koenma pointed out.

"That, and how do we get her to agree to talk?" Boton asked.

"We can just hold her captive here until she talks." Yusuke lounged on the couch with his arms crossed.

"Or you could just ask her." Kagome said peeved. "_before_ you resort to such drastic tactics."

They all turned around. 

She took two shaky steps into the room when she felt two sets of arms helping support her. Kurama held her up while Hiei made no qualms about lifting the hem of the dress-shirt someone had put on her, to check the wound.

SLAP!

Hiei dropped the shirt and touched the angry red mark on his cheak. She dared!

Kurama led her over to an overstuffed chair and helped her sit. "You shouldn't be up. You lost quite a bit if blood." He scolded.

She ignored his mothering.

"Who are you?" Yusuke demanded.

"How many times are you going to ask me that?" she replied. "I am still Kagome and next time you ask, I will still be Kagome." She pushed the stray strands of ebony hair from her eyes.

"I need a better answer." He said.

"That is the only answer there is!" she shot back.

She shifted her weight and winced when the bandages pulled. Boton carried a lap blanket over and offered to check the bandages. Kagome accepted and covered herself decently.

Boton gasped. "I'ts half healed already!"

"I heal faster than some." She glanced down and winced at the sight. "I've had worse. This won't kill me."

"Hn." Hiei said from behind Boton. He stared intently at the wound.

_When did he get there? _she thought, pulling the shirt back down with a huff.

Kuwabara nudged Yusuke and pointed. He shrugged. Yusuke figured he would ask Kurama later what was up with the koorime since Hiei would never explain himself.

"Maybe he likes her." Kuwabara whispered.

"..." Yusuke just grinned evily.


	5. One Last Phone Callshort

I know this is a very shoty section, but I make up for it in the next part which I might have to split into two!

I own neither yyh or Iy.

One Last Phone Call

Kagome looked back at them sadly. "If I am going to be imprisoned here, can I at least call home? My mother must be worried."

Yusuke looked like he was considering telling her no.

"Of course." Koenma nodded wide eyed.

She flashed him a smile of thanks and he promptly blushed. There was only Boton that also had that effect on him.

Suichi hesitated before retrieving the phone from its cradle. He handed it to her with a speculative look.

She dialed the number and smiled when her grandpa picked up the phone.

"Hi grandpa. Is mom-"

"Kagome! Do you know what time it is? That inu-oni is stompping around here demanding we find you!"

"Inuyasha is there?" Kagome glanced at the clock on the wall. It was later then she had thought.

All ears perked up at the strange name. Dog Demon?

"Grandpa? Inuyasha!" Obviously the phone changed hands.

"Dammit, Bitch! Where the Hell are you? We got things to do! I've been waiting here all damn day! Get your ass-"

They watched as Kagome pulled the phone away from her ear to give it a murderous look. She waited a full minute before putting the receiver back to her ear.

"-Kikyo never would have been so-"

She pulled the phone away again and waited another minute with a resigned and pained expression. Everyone was staring at her.

She again lifted the phone to her ear.

"-get back here right now! Kagome, are you even listening to me?"

She finally spoke. "Inuyasha, sit."

She heard the crash, the moan and the curse.

"Sister?"

"Ah, Sota!" Kagome visibly brighted. "I need you to tell mother that everything is fine but I am not sure when I will be back."

"What about inu-brother?"

"Tell him to go back to his own world and wait." Kagome could feel the stares. It felt like she was being picked apart.

"Tell mom not to worry, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Bye." She pushed the button to hang up the line. Silently, she handed the phone back to its owner who accepted it with questions in his eyes.


	6. Questionsand Answers?

Grr! I own nothing and don't worry, all the other characters will play a part in this fic. As I said before, It will be very long! It is just the way I write! We are still on the first day and night, after all...

Sylvannastar

**************************************************************************************************

Questions....and Answers?

She still felt like a bug on a pin. It was very uncomfortable. Suddenly, Kagome felt very tired. She tucked her legs to the side and leaned back into the softness of the chair. The evening light caused the sad shadows in her eyes to deepen. 

"I'll answer your questions if you answer mine." she offered tiredly.

"Agreed!" Koenma said hurriedly.

"But you said-"

"Shut up, Kuwabara." Hiei snarled.

Her resulting smile was magnetic. Koenma found himself smiling back. He liked this girl.

"Shall I start?" Yusuke asked wryly.

No one bothered to answer him.

"What do you know about spirit world?"

"Absolutely Nothing!" she answered cheerfully. Kurama dropped the phone with a clatter. "What can _you_ tell me about spirit world?" she countered.

Yusuke's face turned red. "Why you-If your gonna lie-"

"She's not lying." Hiei looked confused.

Yusuke turned several shades paler but seemed stumped.

"I can answer that." Koenma said. "Spirit world is....well, the compliment to this world. There is the ningenkia, or human world. There is the Reikai, or spirit realm, and the Makai, or demon world. The Neatherworld is opposite the Demon world and is like the Reikai. 

The Spirit world and Demon world are linked as well. "

"Who are you exactly?"

"I am Koenma, heir to the Spirit World. My father is the King and it is my duty to deal with the issues that arrive between worlds. Like demon breakouts, unknown energies, threats to the welfare of the people of the different worlds...and deciding what souls are sent off to receive what punishments and which are reborn. It's a tough job..."

She seemed fascinated and impressed. _Demons and Humans have separate worlds now? Why is it not like that in the past? _

"Now I have a question. How do you know about youkai if you know nothing about the spirit realm?

"I live at a shrine!" she laughed. "A five hundred year old shrine." She supplied. "And she said growing more serious, "when I turned fifteen, I was attacked by a centipede demon."

"A centipede?" Yusuke hooted, sure she was joking. He looked at Hiei, perched at the window. The little fire demon shrugged, indicating that she was still telling the truth.

She was looking away, as if remembering the event. Her hand lifted to gently touch the star shaped scar at her hip. It was where the Shikon no Tama had been ripped from her on her fifteenth birthday.

"A centipede?" Yusuke asked again, more serious.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Is he always so distrusting?" she asked Shuuichi, who remained beside her chair.

He looked at Yusuke with a small, secret smile played about his lips. Yusuke glared at him.

"I've never heard of such a demon." Hiei cut in.

"I've heard of them," Koenma nodded. "But there haven't been any seen around since my father was young. They where about the size of a train when full grown." Yusuke paled. Suddenly a the idea of a bug demon didn't seem so funny.

Kagome tilted her head to the side and rested her cheak against the winged arm of the chair. She was so tired. Did it really matter if they believed her? It would not change her mission even if they did. She bit her lower lip regretfully.

"So," Boton began, "Did you defeat the centipede the same way you beat the Shadow Youkai, today?"

"No. I took off one of it's arms and wounded it a bit. But I couldn't destroy it. I was just learning that youkai were real when it came after me again."

Kagome stopped for a moment. "I can tell you two," she pointed to Koenma and Hiei, "are demons...sort of." She gave koenma a searching glance. "And that Kuwabara is human, but what of you others? You feel different. Are you a Hanyou, Shuuichi-san?" She watched him curiously.

"It's a long story, but yes, in some fashion I am a hanyou." Kurama said.

"There is always a long story." Kagome sighed.

"Well, I'm more of a spirit then a demon..." Boton explained herself.

Kagome just nodded her acceptance of this answer but didn't press for more information.

"How can you tell?" Kuwabara asked suddenly.

"I've been around enough demons now to tell the difference between a human and a youkai."

"So you've seen more demons then the centepede?" Koenma sounded worried. _Just how much am I gonna have to cover up?_

"Oh yes! Mobs of them, actually." She shivered. "Let me try to explain a bit more about that first demon. You see, it wasn't from here." She began.

"So it _is_ from spirit world." Hiei stated.

"No," She paused. "Lets try it this way. It is from here," she said pointing down. "But not from now."

"Huh?" Yusuke said.

"It came out from a seven hundred year old, sacred dry well located at my families shrine."

They looked at her waiting for her to continue. "And it didn't come out so much as pull me in. I was pulled back into the Warring States Era. The well is a time portal."

"And this Inuyasha character is from the past then?" Kurama clarified. "That is the world you meant him to go back to..."

"Yes! He is actually the one who saved me from the centipede demon." She frowned again. "Of course, then he turned right around and tried to kill me himself."

"Inuyasha is a demon?"

"Half demon..."

Silence

"It is very complicated. I didn't realize how much till now, as I am trying to explain it. I have never had to tell the story before." she said. "It only gets worse...give me some time to gather my thoughts together. How about you guys? How did such a strange group of people come to be friends?"

"We're not strange." Kuwabara said. The others looked at him as if he were stupid. "Well, I'm not." He received the same look.

"We are a spirit detective team." Yusuke answered. Then he began his story. "Three years ago, I was killed in an accident..."

Kagome listened to the story up to the point the dark tournament ended. After that, Yusuke stopped speaking a language that Kagome could understand. He blurred and a loud buzzing grew in her ears. She felt strong arms lift her up but she was too weak to do more than grasp the person's arm. She was asleep before she reached the end of the hall.


	7. What's Inside

My work depends a lot on character development and chapters, like this one, allow us to understand who these personalities really are. Though there is little or no action...things are still happening!

  


I do not own either IY or YYH

  
  


What's Inside a Mind.

  


"What do you think?" Yusuke questioned vaguely.

"It's going to take a few more days to straighten this out," Koenma sighed. "A time portal...my dad is gonna kill me. Boton, lets go look up any information on this Inuyasha character. We'll be back in the morning."

Kuwabara looked at his watch. "I better get back too or Shizuru is gonna pound me." He looked thoughtful as he pulled the door closed behind him.

Hiei looked at Yusuke expectantly. "Oh, come on. My mom's too drunk to know if I'm home or not." He stacked his hands behind his head and regaurded the fire demon. "Did you sense anything from her with your Jagon?"

"No." Hiei turned to look out the window. They were each lost in their own thoughts. When the clock struck eleven they realized that a good ten minutes at least had passed.

"Wonder what's keeping Kurama..." Yusuke said and stood. 

They sauntered over to the door of the bedroom and saw Kurama sitting beside Kagome on the bed.

He looked up at them, a pleading look on his face. "Help?" He lifted his hand and shook it lightly. The girl had twined her fingers tightly into the sleeve of his shirt. "She has a grip of steel."

"Force her to let go, if you don't want to sit there all night." Hiei shrugged. It wasn't his problem.

"I don't want to break her fingers, Hiei."

"Looks like you are stuck, then." He turned and went back into the living room.

Yusuke watched him walk away before he joined Kurama beside the bed. "Hiei's acting funny."

"Indeed." Kurama sighed and tried to gently pry Kagome's fingers off his rumpled shirt.

"Do you think it's cause of her?" he pointed down.

She made a small sound of distress and her grip tightened.

Kurama gave up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he was his normal self yesterday. Today, he was trying to help heal a human."

Kurama felt his insides twist.

"I think he might like her."

The stab of jealousy was unexpected. Kurama needed to think.

"She's probably the only girl to ever have the nerve to stand up to him, like she did. She even slapped him," Yusuke continued.

"Keiko smacks you all the time."

"Exactly!" Yusuke seemed pleased.

Kurama was fighting the urge to yell at him to shut up. It wouldn't be dignified. Did the little Koorime like the girl? It was possible. Yet, Hiei never returned affections to anyone before. Kurama knew, he had tried to draw the guy out of his shell many times.

"Well, you mind if I crash here?"

"I doubt there would be room for the three of us here," Kurama said dryly, looking at Kagome's pale fingers against his blue shirt.

"Funny. I'll be on the couch." Yusuke paused at the door. "You know, you'll have to take the shirt off anyway to wash up."

Kurama looked down at he stained clothing. Her blood...He smiled suddenly and shook his head at his own inability to think of the obvious answer. It wasn't like him. _Perhaps I didn't really want to get free? _

He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off before retreating to the bathroom.

Hiei liking a girl? Hiei actually liking anyone? It was something to ponder.

Kurama stripped down and layed out a towel and a set of jade pajamas. He usually didn't bother with them, but with the girl in the next room, caution seemed the wisest path to choose.

He stopped in front of the mirror, looked into his own green eyes, and felt the familair stirring in his mind. Youko. Shuuichi. Two separate people forced into one. And they were incredibly different creatures. 

Now that he had the ability to change his form, Kurama felt pulled , at times, to change between the two. Shuuichi was gentle, caring, smart, but often too passive. Youko was mischievious, curious, intelligent, and just too damn good at getting in and out of tight situations. The Kurama that his friends on the team knew was the result of the two haves cooperating in sync with each other. Most often they were in agreement with one another and were one person. Other times...

He scowled at his reflection.

It was because he felt divided within himself that he shied away from relationships of any meaning. Especially ones he thought might grow into something stronger then mere friendship. To last, it would have to be something that was special to both the youko and the human..._like Hiei_. Kurama pictured the fire demon in his mind. _There had been times_...his smile was gentle.

Shuuichi was adamant in his preference for women. And there were many girls that were more then willing to be in a relationship with him. With Hiei, it was strictly a best friend kind of relationship.

Youko, on the other hand, loved beautiful things and beautiful people. Race, sex, species, were small issues for the fox spirit. And Youko Kurama thought Hiei was beautiful, cute, adorable-

_Mmmm! He's still here, you know..._the fox sent his voice whispering into Kurama's head.

_Yeah, well, so is the girl. And she is already in our bed, _Shuuichi countered.

_Perhaps you would have the nerve to do something about this situation, _the fox agreed, _She is quite lovely too!_

The foxes' excitement was embarrassing.

Sometimes, Kurama felt that the two voices and souls fused together for so long had produced a third creation. Himself as Kurama. As both. More then a vessel for the two separate entities. He was born between them.

_You're more right then you know! _the fox hinted seductively.

(AN: for any of you Yoai fans...this would be an interesting twist on a relationship...imagine having two people in one body and a very sexually driven spirit fox with no qualms about taking advantage of the young human side...hmmm? Has it been done? I haven't read it if it has! Let me know if you do...)

He could feel the embarrassment of Shuuichi. He remembered Youko's lessons on that side of himself quite well. The fox was an incredibly passionate creature and he also found Shuuichi to be beautiful...Somehow when one half of yourself liked the other, interesting situations ensued.

Youko chuckled, Shuuichi shivered despite his position against such an odd complication to their already close relationship. The youko was convincing at times!

Kurama's expression never changed through out this internal exchange. His inner unrest made him regret that he could never expect one person to accept both sides of himself. And what's more, he could never put himself in that position to begin with.

But, even though he was technically two people, he was lonely. Hiei was his closest friend, but the koorime was very closed off in many ways. Hiei was determined not to get close to anyone. 

Kurama closed his eyes and rested his forehead on the cool glass of the mirror.

**************************************************************************************************

Hiei heard the water start from his perch at the window in the living room. _Stupid Kitsune._ He couldn't help but be pleased with himself for containing his reactions to recent events from the others. He liked to keep his emotions and responses concealed from them. It was the fact that he even had emotional responses to anything that pissed him off. He didn't even have the excuse that he was half human.

With every twinge of feeling, he grew more angry with the world, with himself for allowing that vulnerability to continue. He cared for a mother that threw him away. He cared for a sister that would never know him. He made friends with people who constantly threw themselves into dangerous situations where he might lose them. _Like that damn fox._

Hiei knew Kurama had an attraction to him. He alternated between disgust and amusement depending on his own mood. Right now he was jealous. _Jealous! _He narrowed his red eyes at his reflection. His body temperature rose at the thought. But who was he jealous of? The girl for catching his one true friends attention, or Kurama for being in a better position then himself to get to know the dark-haired beauty?

_Both. _It was both and neither.

Even if he had the chances and the opportunities to change the course his life was on, he knew he wouldn't do it. Hiei was tired of hurting. Tired of rejection. So he would beat the world to it by rejecting them first.

With these dark thoughts spinning around in his head, Hiei fell in to a half sleep, content to pretend he cared nothing for anyone else.

********************************************************************************************

Five hundred years ago, a lonely hanyou dog demon almost chose that same path...and came to regret it. It almost caused him to lose a good friend.

"Idiot." Inuyasha pulled himself away from the faded boards that marked the old bone-eaters' well. "Stupid girl." He continued ranting until he reached Kaede's hut.

He snorted a greeting to his other companions, daring them to comment on his inability to convince Kagome to come back early. Miroku and Sango blinked up at him at him but said nothing. And he wanted a fight. He couldn't even pound on Shippo. He crouched on all fours and glared at the fox for going and falling asleep. Shippo snored tauntingly. Inuyasha twitched his ears in irritation. "Keh!" He turned his back on them all.

_Let the stupid girl stay in her own time, then! I don't need her. I never did! I can gather these last shards on my own. After all, we already know who has them. She would just get in the way again anyways. Dumb bitch..._He leapt into the tall branches of a tree and pouted. _It's not like I really care if she comes back anyway...._

Unfortunately, he had a hard time swallowing that one himself. _I won't care. I won't let my heart be broken a second time. I won't...at least...I won't ever let her know. I won't let her die because of me. Not again..._


	8. Making Friends

  


Note for Reviewers

  


Thank you rured, Diaphanous, BabbleQueen, Shinigami Clara, and Densetsuno Youko for reviewing! 

  


As for the questions and comments, here is my reply:

Inuyasha is not going to paired up with Kagome simply because I feel that there has been too much history between the two that neither could ever really forget or let go. Inuyasha is revealed later as a very important/kind (yes, underneath that gruff exterior lies a wonderful soul) personality. He won't be with Kagome, but he won't be lonely either! Keep reading, you'll see!

  


As for closing the portal to the past, the way I see it, it was there at least five hundred years before Kgome was born. It will be there five hundred years more. I find no reason to allow part of what made the story even exist should be so easily written out.

Real life is not likely to be straight forward and over-simplified. My goal was to portray the characters with a little more depth and the way I accomplish that is to increase our awareness of the character interactions. I dislike the whole "I like you. You like me. Come on world, push us together!" Scenario. The way people think and behave has consequences on the outcomes of events and on the decisions of other characters. And there are more emotions out there then Love! Also I have included that everyone has an internal struggle that they will be trying to overcome as well as the various threats that are obviously a carry over from the manga or anime.

  


I want these people to live and breath over the pages. They are alive! Whahahahahah!

  


Thank you

Sylvannastar

  
  


Getting Friendly...er...Making Friends.

  


Kagome opened her blurry eyes, for a time disoriented by her unfamiliar surroundings. She turned her head and saw Shuuichi curled uncomfortably in a narrow chair. His silky red hair had slipped over one shoulder and had fallen over his closed eyes.

  


She smiled gently. He had given up his bed for her. She felt touched and concerned for the discomfort she knew he would be feeling if she allowed him to sleep there all night. The sheets rustled softly as she tried to sit up.

  


Slowly, Kurama's emerald eyes cracked open. She sat up on her elbows and examined the dirty shirt clutched in one hand. She looked confused. She glanced at him and saw him watching her.

  


With a nervous smile, she held up the garment and waved it at him apologetically. He moved to take it from her, brushing her finger tips with his. She hugged her arm to her chest and regarded him with her expressive eyes. Then, she spoke.

  


"You're gonna hurt tomorrow if you sleep there like that."

  


He gave her a lopsided half-smile and smoothed the ruined school shirt with his fingers. "Yes, well, Yusuke has commandeered the couch, and Hiei the window seat. I had few options left to me. Besides, I wanted to be sure you did not develop an infection from the wound and take a turn for the worst in the middle of the night."

  


She still felt bad about taking over his bed. She plucked at the sheet thoughtfully. It was a big bed...But shouldn't there be a guest room? 

  


He could see where her thoughts were going. "My mother works the night shift and will be back soon, and our guest room was turned into a studio years ago."

  


"Studio?"

  


"My mother teaches piano twice a week from our home."

  


"Oh."

  


A long silence followed. When she made no move to lie down, he spoke again. "You need to sleep if you are to heal."

  


She blushed again and moved over stiffly. She could tell he was still watching her.

  


_His eyes are so gentle and understanding...I can't be so selfish as to leave him like that!_

Kagome turned onto her side away from him so he couldn't see her face when she spoke again. 

"Shuuichi, there is plenty of room on the bed. I trust you."

  


It was true, She did trust him, thought she couldn't say why. She blushed harder and curled her fingers into the sheets again, forcing herself to relax.

  


She was embarrassed. He smiled in the dark but remained in the chair. "Thank you." He heard himself say.

  


She turned her head around to look at him in confusion. He didn't accept her offer.... "Am I that bad to be around that you actually prefer the chair?" she asked.

  


He could hear the humor in her voice but knew to refuse right out would hurt her feelings. He stood up and walked the two steps to the side of the bed and pulled an extra blanket with him. She remained under the original covers while he settled on top of them.

  


"Thank you," she whispered this time.

  


"For what?" he asked just as quietly.

  


"For taking care of me. For being concerned. For not preferring the chair..." her voice faded off as she drifted to sleep again. "Besides, I'm used to having someone close when I sleep....my...little...fox."

  


That made him sit up suddenly. "What!"

  


She didn't even twitch. She was out. 

  


***************************************************************************************************

  


Hiei woke up as the first rays of the morning sun appeared over the horizon. He woke suddenly and completely, instantly alert. There was a movement by the door. The lock rattled and opened.

  


He watched as a tired looking woman dropped various items along her path. Jacket, shoes, keys, handbag, all discarded, until she yawned delicately and noticed Yusuke snoring loudly on the couch. She peered at him and dragged the blanket over him to tuck him in better. She turned her tired eyes to Hiei and smiled a welcome.

  


"Shuuichi didn't tell me he was going to have friends over. I will see if we have anything to make a good breakfast for you." She spoke quietly to keep from waking Yusuke. "I'm afraid we may be a bit unprepared." 

  


"It wasn't planned." Hiei said. He saw her drawn expression and turned back to the window. "Don't worry about food. We'll be going out."

  


She looked relieved. She made a polite response before making her way to her own room to get some rest. She knew her son was responsible and would take care of anything that may come up with his guests. He really was a good son. Smiling to herself at her good fortune, she climbed into her own bed to enjoy a long dreamless sleep.

  


Hiei watched her go using her reflection in the glass. They would have to find somewhere else to talk this morning. He looked at the people stirring in the streets below him. They would need to be somewhere private, where they could get some answers.

  


***********************************************************************************************

  


Yusuke opened the door after he received no answer to his knocking. The bed was a tangle of limbs, blankets and long red and black hair. Yusuke wasn't sure which way was supposed to be up, so he poked one unmoving lump in the middle.

  


"Mmmph..."

  


At least it was alive. Yusuke shook his head at the mess. The corner of one blanket lowered enough to reveal one blurry green eye.

  


"Morning, Sunshine!" Yusuke was enjoying this.

  


"Mmmmph," the voice replied again. The blanket was pulled back up, hiding the exposed eye.

  


"Didn't sleep so well?" Yusuke asked innocently. The blanket lowered again. "Everyone is here."

  


The green eye turned to regard the glowing red numbers on his alarm clock. Kurama shot up so suddenly the bed bounced and the other lump slid with a thud to the floor. It whimpered and untangled itself to reveal and even more tousled Kagome. She half climbed back on the bed, leaving her lower half sprawled on the floor. And went back to sleep in front of them.

  


"I guess she's not hurt." Yusuke commented, scratching his head. Kurama couldn't seem to gather his thoughts. "Everyone is waiting" he repeated and left the room chuckling. He had never seen Kurama so flustered. But then, he'd never seen Kurama first thing in the morning either. 

  


************************************************************************************************

  


Kagome pushed her wet hair behind one small ear and touched the tender wound that ran down the length of her side. It was better, but still not good. The shower had lifted her spirits immensely. She finger combed her hair for lack of a brush and looked at the dirty school clothes she had from yesterday. It was rather pointless to put them back on. 

  


A knock on the door had her scrambling to pull the towel tighter around her. The door cracked open to reveal a beaming Boton. She pushed her way in and chattered loudly the whole while. Then she handed Kagome a beautifully embroidered white kimono. It had cherry blossoms across the shoulders and down one sleeve. Kagome was impressed. It was beautiful.

  


She dressed and joined the others in the now well lit living room. They still seemed a bit distrusting except for Kurama, Yusuke who was grinning at her like a fool, and Hiei who had absolutely no expression whatsoever. 

  


"Ah! There you are!" The child Koenma said. "Time to go."

  


She opened her mouth to ask where when the ground seemed to disappear under her feet. She yelped and grabbed for the nearest support which happened to be Boton. They arrived in a large room furnished with no more then a desk and chair. Kagome looked around expecting an echo from all the empty space.

  


The doors across from them suddenly burst open and a blue ogre with a pencil behind his ear and a notepad under one arm, bounded into the room. He was followed by various other ogres carrying mismatched chairs and couches while he directed them around.

  


Kagome wisely stepped out of the way and remained content to watch. She looked at Hiei. "Spirit world?"

  


He nodded. She continued to watch the bustling. Then, three more ogres came in carrying a small box between them. It was obviously very heavy. They placed it on the floor under a large screen she had not noticed before, and left the room.

  


She looked questioningly at Koenma. 

  


"Sit! Sit!" he urged them. Kagome sank into the nearest sofa and was quickly joined by Koenma. He stood on a cushion and proclaimed in a very proud tone, "I found an easier way for you to tell your story. That," he motioned at the box which obediently opened and a small glass ball emerged and floated over to them, "is a type of seer stone. It will show us your memories."

  


"My...memories?" she hesitated to ask.

  


"Yes. We will see everything."

  


"Everything!?" she squeaked. Suddenly, sharing her life story and trusting these strangers took a whole new turn. Kagome wasn't sure what idea was worse. Showing her every memory, even the private ones, with others, or suddenly being faced with the idea she may have to recognize the things she had so far kept hidden even from herself.

  


"...everything..." she whispered to herself.

  



	9. What Kagome Knows

What Kagome Knows

  


Koenma decided that maybe "everything" was too strong of a word. Perhaps he better explain things better.

  


He pointed at the globe floating in the air. "It is a piece of the essence of the Earth itself. Because of that, its nature is that it contains memories of the world and the things that happened in it. It takes the users signature energy and can replay the events that happened around that person." He saw Kagome gulp and shrink miserably back away from the orb. "Uh, don't worry...You can control what pieces of your life that you want to show and the order that they appear to us. You just can't alter or distort the actual events. Care to give it a try?"

  


Kagome thought about this while everyone waited in silence for her to choose. It was asking much of her to share her life with them. They hardly knew her and she them. But, as they found out, Kagome wasn't going to let things like that get in the way of fulfilling her mission. Fixing the Jewel had become her life. And the only compensation for the difficult things she had gone through was her experiences and her friends. _These people seem to be friendly enough...for the most part. _She glanced at the glacial Hiei. _Hmmm...but even he helped me when that Youkai attacked me. I don't think they are bad people...I guess...I trust them. I will trust them._

  


Kagome gingerly reached out to touch the floating ball with her fingertips. She expected its weight to be immense but was pleasantly surprised to find its smooth surface to be both light and airy in her hands. "It's so light!"

  


Koenma released a breath he had not realized he had been holding. _I'm glad she chose to do this...I was not looking forward to using a more forceful way of interrogation. _ _But this situation could be way too important to leave unattended._

  


"It's only heavy for those who have no memories of the living world," he explained. "Just concentrate on the events you want to show us."

  


"O-okay..."

  


As soon as Kagome's fingers made firmer contact with the ball, a picture of herself appeared on the large screen at the end of the room. She was watching the image of herself on her fifteenth birthday. She watched and listened as her grandfather gifted her with the mummified hand. She in turn gave it to the cat.

  


The picture jumped forward to her looking for the same obese cat and teasing her brother. It showed her first trip into the well and Kagome felt silly when she realized how young and scared she looked and sounded. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed with everyone watching these details of her life. The globe was merciless in showing everything the way it happened. Even when she was screaming like a fool...She closed her eyes and decided to just bare with it.

  


She listened as Inuyasha first mistook her for Kikyo, as she mastered the prayer beads, as the Shikon no Tama was shattered, as the quest began. She remembered the first shards they collected, and tried to forget the demons who had them.

  


Koenma suddenly stopped her. She opened her cloudy blue eyes and released the floating orb. The screen went blank and the room was silent.

  


Everyone was turned to look at her with expressions ranging from amazement to disbelief written on their faces. 

  


"Lunch! Take a break...we have a long time yet."

  


"Lunch? Already?" Kagome tilted her head to the side.

  


"We have been here half the day." Shuuichi informed her. "And you never had breakfast, if I remember correctly. You need to eat to replenish your strength."

  


"..." It felt like mere moments had passed, but Kagome found she was indeen hungry. She was asked few questions through out the meal, of which Koenma ate the most. It seemed that everyone was occupied with thoughts of their own. Then, it was time to resume her story.

  


Kagome picked up with the entrance of Sesshoumaru and his search for the sword fangs of the InuTaiYoukai. The earth's memory of him was just as impressive as the actual lord of the west himself.

  


"Ohhh!" Youko regarded the Dog Demon with intensified interest. Kurama ignored that.

  


So did Koenma. "The Great Lord of the Western Lands...He is in legends and stories as being one of the kindest and strongest demons to have ever lived in the living world. He only stayed in the Demon Realm a short time. It was said that he was given the ability to cross the barrier at will, even in its strongest days. No one knows what became of him."

  


Kagome looked at him as if he had grown horns. _Sesshoumaru? Kind?_ She shook her head and returned to her story. Hiei interrupted. He was interested in the swords. "The fangs...what became of them?" 

  


"As far as I know, they each still have them. I have no idea what happens to them." Kagome answered.

  


Kagome started again and introduced Shippo.

  


Kurama was surprised to see her smile as the little fox entered the scene. _Her little fox.._he recalled. It made sense now.

  


_A fitting mother for the cub..._Youko whispered in his mind. Shuuichi silently agreed. The kitsune kit had obviously realized it too. 

Suddenly, the images became darker and full of malice. Boton watched in horror as Kikyo was resurrected and Kagome's soul was stolen. "How horrible..." she whispered.

  


The relationship between the hanyou and Kagome never seemed to recover after that, though they could see Kagome cared for the idiot.

  


"Why do you stay with him?!" Boton finally exploded as she watched Inuyasha run after the corpse Kikyo again.

  


"Because under all that anger and pain, he has a good heart," Kagome answered.

  


Boton's look was respectful, but she said, "I couldn't handle that. His shard detector, indeed!"

  


Kagome smiled wearily.

  


"You deserve better."

  


"If I deserved better, I would have better," Kagome answered looking at the screen.

  


Miroku joined them. Naraku was revealed. Sango stepped in. Battle after battle went by. It grew dark as Kagome showed them her life. Scene by scene. Betrayal by betrayal. Until all was silent around her. The story was not over, but Kagome did not yet know what was to come.

  


"We are so close..."she suddenly said. "So close to defeating Naraku; to fixing the Jewel. And to ending this. Though for you, its already over." She looked up, hoping that her decision to trust these people was a wise one. She smiled. "I still have to go back to finish it."

  


"Do you-"Koenma hesitated. "Do you have the Shikon shards with you?" Kagome pulled a vial out from around her neck. The shards twinkled lightly. Koenma sighed. "You know, we'll protect you while you are in this time."

  


Kagome was surprised, then great full. She rubbed her side ruefully. "Thank you. Looks like I always need looking after, doesn't it?"

  


They stood and let the silence envelope them. They all had separate thought on this new turn of events. She tucked the shards back under the Kimono and stretched. It was early morning and she was tired. 

  


"I will need to go back soon. Inuyasha will probably be waiting." 

  


No one commented. There was just so much to take in. 

  


Hiei stopped beside her. "You have the heart of a warrior, if not the skills of one."

  


"Thank you?" Kagome wasn't sure if that turned out to be a compliment or not. Hiei's ruby eyes were direct and serious. Boton escorted her new friend through the halls and opened a portal to send the girl home. She waved a tired but cheery hand at them and left.

  


**************************************************************************************************

  


Yusuke stood with his hands in his pockets. He stared down at the scuffed toes of his shoes.

  


"What are you thinking?" Koenma asked, not liking the look on the detectives face.

  


"Just wondering what she left out.."

  


"Hn," Hiei agreed from his position by the wall. 

  


"I did notice how some scenes flashed by incredibly fast." Koenma sighed. "But then, I wouldn't want strangers to know every detail of my life either. If you let that thing have it's way, it would probably show us every time you ever used the bathroom, or give us a detailed picture of every rock you've ever stepped on. No one wants to share _everything_ with others. And we are no more then strangers to her. I'd say she's remarkably trusting."

  


"Try foolish," Hiei said.

  


Kurama looked thoughtfully at the now blank screen. He was replaying the images in his own mind and for the first time in weeks, both his Shuuichi and Youko sides were again in complete accord. This world held stranger people and things then himself. Somehow, he was not relieved.

  


"Besides, another thing about the seer stone, once it has locked on to a person's energy, I can command it to show me that person at will." He pointed at the globe and the screen was plunged into a new scene with the morning light shining brightly from behind a shrine house. Kagome ran up the steps near by, when she was suddenly intercepted by Inuyasha. He picked her up even as she protested, and grabbed the overstuffed bag her mother had obviously prepared. They watched as Inuyasha dropped her over the side of the well and her reappearance in the past. The vision faded.

  


"That," Boton said furiously, "is disgusting!"

  


"Huh?"

  


"I must agree," Kurama supported her.

  


"What?"

  


"She has shared her life with us and you go and peep on her! That is awful, Koenma-sir." She crossed her arms and glared evilly at her employer.

  


"She has done nothing to warrant such treatment." Kurama added.

  


"I didn't do it because of her! I did it for her!" he seethed. "If she gets into any trouble, I can send you guys to help!"

  


"You did it because you were concerned?" Boton looked skeptical.

  


"Yes!"

  


"Hn," from the back corner.

  


"Got any more of these things?" Yusuke asked with a grin. 

  


"Yusuke! What about Keiko!?" a gravelly voice demanded.

  


"Who did you think I was gonna give it to, stupid?" He shouted at Kuwabara.

  


"I don't know why you bothered." Hiei suddenly said. "It's obvious they succeed."

  


"What?"

  


"Look around you. There is no evidence of the Jewel, or Naraku, or any of those things now."

  


"He's right" Kuwabara scratched his head.

  


"No he's not." Koenma jumped into the chair at his desk. "This just proves that time doesn't move in a straight line. Things could still change. Just because they haven't yet, that we know of, doesn't mean that they can't. There are no guarantees."

  


"Hn."

  


"One other thing bothers me."

  


"What?" Yusuke asked.

  


"She said that there was a shard lost in the land of the dead. There must be a piece here in spirit world. It may still be here."

  


"So? We'll go find it."

  


"We'll have to wait for Kagome to be able to join you."

  


"Huh? Why?"

  


"Because she is linked to the jewel and can sense it. And because even if you find it, you shouldn't touch it. Kagome can purify it."

  


"So this is our next assignment?"

  


"Yeah, unless something more comes up."

  


"So what do we do in the mean time?"

  


"Stay out of trouble." Koenma said around his pacifier. He steepled his hands and turned his chair around. Koenma needed time to think. He heard the team leave and dropped his head in his hands. "Why me?" he asked the silent room.

  


He wasn't expecting an answer and yelped when he received a cold reply. "It's your job." 

  


Hiei emerged from the corner of the room and stopped in front of the desk. Why doesn't my Jagon work on her?" he asked bluntly.

  


"It's probably her Miko powers...by the time the energy from your Jagon reaches her, she's purified it, making it useless."

  


Hiei obviously didn't like this answer. He left abruptly.

  


"She can do that to any demonic energy. Even mine...thank goodness she's not a demon hunter. None of us would stand a chance." He said to himself. "Not even me..." He dropped his head in his hands, ignoring the pile of papers that had collected on his desk. Koenma was very worried.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. At the Higarahi Shrine

  
  
  


Thank you again for reviewing Shinigami Clara, Cinderelly, SurfAngel, Katzztar, DemonLady1, Suzumi Tenshi, Dark Topaz, Kya Kagami, Artemis the Goddess, InuBabe, Kurama-Kagome12, and nyczbabigrl! I appreciate the support and the comments!

  


To answer various questions:

  


Kagome is very powerful, but so was Kikyo. Kikyo had protected the Jewel, destroying any demon who came after it, except Inuyasha. When she was resurrected, she only kept the hate part of her soul. Kagome uses her feelings and her own purity and belief in the goodness of the world when she fights. By choosing her battles wisely, Kogome keeps her strength, and remains mostly untouched by the taint of killing and only fights those she thinks are evil/bad. Kikyo's mistake was to forget to look for the good in people before the bad and is corrupted. She is still strong, but her power has mostly transferred to the untrained Kagome. Kagome's power is strangely reminiscent of Midoriko's, I believe, because the jewel was a part of her for so long, it effected her. Also, there can't be a reincarnation of Midoriko because her soul is still inside the jewel fight the battle for good vs. evil.

  


The confusing pairings will smooth out...who am I kidding? I live for complication! Inuyasha likes Kagome but doesn't love her. Hiei's feeling will be explained, and Kurama just gets more and more interesting! But Inuyasha will not be alone! Trust me!

  


And it is a kag/kur fic because I want it to be. I have plans for a kag/hiei fic, but it will be put off until this one is finished.

  


I just wanted to post one more chapter before I have to leave for some sorta family reunion....enjoy! More next week.

  
  


At The Higarashi Shrine

  
  
  


Kagome set up camp that night with difficulty. She cursed Inuyasha's thoughtlessness at not allowing her to change out of the white Kimono before tossing her into the well. She had received many complements, but that didn't make it any easier to travel in. And keeping it clean was next to impossible. She brushed the stains covering the delicate silk. "Damn..."

  


"Kagome?" Shippo's voice cut in. The little kitsune jumped on to her shoulder and wrapped little arms around her neck. "Why are you acting so funny? You said you had a story to tell me..." he reminded her.

  


"Umm." She dropped her armload of firewood next to the pit Inuyasha and Miroku had prepared. "I certainly do!"

  


"It better concern why you smell like five strange demons and why you blew me off that night!"

Inuyasha was furious.

  


"Oh, so now you're talking to me, are you?"

  


"Feh!"

  


"Uh-oh..."Shippo could feel Kagome's temper mounting.

  


"If you had let me change and shower, I wouldn't smell like anyone but myself!"

  


"Like that's an improvement!" he scoffed.

  


"Inuyasha!" Miroku tried to calm him. "Kagome smells as sweet as a rose."

  


"Yeah, that's that other kitsune on her."

  


"Huh?" Shippo took a big breath and found the scent Inuyasha was talking about. "Kagome, you met another Kitsune?!" He was excited. He hadn't seen any others of his kind since his parents had been killed.

  


"I don't know. It may have been one of the hanyous..." she mused.

  


"Sit and tell your story." Sango urged her.

"Yeah!" Shippo wanted to hear about this other fox.

  


"Alright." She arranged her kimono about her legs and began her story. "I was transferred from my old school to a new one. When I got to this school, I was introduced to this boy..."

  


For the third night in a row, Kagome got little sleep and stayed up late to talk. There were things she couldn't understand about her new friends, but she was sure everything would turn out okay.

  


When she finally fell asleep later that night, she dreamed about strange golden eyes that reminded her of Inuyasha. But they were set in the face of someone she did not know. Some one with a voice like velvet and a decidedly wicked sense of humor. Kagome had no desire to wake up just yet.

  


************************************************************************************************

  


Kurama sat up quickly in his bed. The covers slid to the floor in a tangle. He took a shaky hand to wipe the thin sheen of sweat off his forehead.

  


_What had I been dreaming about? _He couldn't remember what was said, but he remembered that Kagome had been there and that his Youko form had been chasing her. They had been playing some strange version of hide and seek...and the fox was winning. He felt a slight surge of disappointment. _It was just a dream..._

  


He swung his long legs off the bed and stretched like a contented cat. It was early yet, but he knew from experience that just laying around invited trouble. When Youko got bored, Kurama found himself doing all sorts of strange things...like counting the number of buttons in the entire house. He had made it to his mothers closet when she walked in. Shuuichi was five. His mother found it funny and took him to the library the next day.

  


Shuuichi was just glad that Youko had as much of a fondness for knowledge as he did. They made great study partners. He made it to his closet and chose some simple clothes since he did not have school till the next day and decided to pay a visit to the Higurashi Shrine. It never hurt to be as informed as you can get.

  


Kurama wasn't the only one with that idea. About ten minutes into the walk to the shine house, he spotted the others of the Rekai Tentai team waiting for him on the corner. He calmly joined them, showing no surprise that they were there.

  


"Good morning!" Boton chirped brightly. "I brought coffee! Oh, and a tea for Kurama and hot chocolate for Hiei." Everyone quickly snatched up the appropriate cup and wrapped their hands around the styrofoam. The morning was cold and tipped with frost: hopefully the last one of the year. "Well," she said, put out. "Isn't this just a peaches and cream kinda day. What's wrong? Didn't anyone sleep?"

  


"No," Yusuke and Kuwabara grumbled together.

  


"I don't sleep," Hiei said. "I rest."

  


Kurama shook his head at them. "I slept quite well, thank you Boton." He lifted the cup of tea apologetically.

  


"I don't see how." Yusuke answered. "All that talk about time and change and demons taking over had me thinking hard about my own decisions." He ran a hand over his hair, careful to be sure not to mess up the gel. "Besides, that girl does the same things we do only without breaks and with multiple demons at one time. I was kinda jealous."

  


"You're an idiot." Hiei said matter-of-factly. "Some of those demon are beyond even your abilities."

  


"Well, who do you think is the worst one?"

  


Hiei didn't hesitate. "Kikyo, the dead Miko."

  


Yusuke stopped. "Really? I figured it would be a toss up between Sesshoumaru and Naraku. I didn't even think of the woman on those terms."

  


"That's why she's the most dangerous. Only Kagome truly sees her as an enemy," Kurama said agreeing with Hiei.

  


"Um. So what you are saying is that she is the one they are least prepared to face and so the most dangerous?"

  


"Exactly."

  


"Well, I don't like her." Boton said crossly. "She has no business walking around in the living world anyway."

  


"Hn."

  


They arrived at the shrine house in time to see Sota, Kagome's little brother, run off with a friend.

The long set of stairs curved at the top, hiding the actual shrine from view. They tackled the stairs together, reaching the top in no time. The shrine was well managed and though old, it was beautifully kept up. 

  


An old man was sweeping and mumbling to himself. His eyes widens when he saw them. "Oh! Kagome is sick! She has-" he picked up the newspaper by his feet and began frantically searching through the pages. "-mad cow disease." He held out the paper with a black and white picture of a 

cow in the corner.

  


"She'd love that one!" Kuwabara laughed.

  


"Eeh?" Her grandfather looked embarrassed.

  


Boton patted his shoulder. "It's okay. We know the truth. Kagome told us all about it."

  


He looked anything but relieved. "You're friends with Kagome? I've never heard of you guys before. I know all her friends," he announced proudly. "I think I talk to them more then she does." he said rubbing his balding head. He eyed them suspiciously.

  


"We just met her two days ago," Kuwabara said.

  


"Oh-ho! So why would she tell you anything? Huh? Huh? HUH?" He glowered at the pug-faced boy.

  


"Uhhh..."

  


"Hmmm. You kids better not-"

  


"Grandpa!" A woman admonished from a window at the house. "Shame on you! I'm sure if Kagome told them anything, she had a good reason to trust them." It was clearly Kagome's mother. "Come in! Come in!" she called. "I'll make tea. You must be cold." She disappeared from the opening.

They hesitated only a second before following the sounds of Mrs. Higarashi into the house. She was folding a set of new school uniforms that matched those of their school. She greeted them and led them into the living room.

  


A quick trip into the kitchen and she returned with several cups and a pot of tea. "Are you friends of my daughter? From her new school?"

  


"Yes," Boton smiled. "She's very easy to like."

  


"Mrs. Higarashi smiled into her cup. "Hmmm." she said. "She isn't home now. Perhaps I could have her call you when she has time?"

  


"Well, actually," Boton began, "we know she's not here. Inuyasha picked her up yesterday morning."

  


Mrs. Higarashi put her cup down carefully and looked Boton in the eye. "I figured as much, with her bag gone. But it is not like Kagome not to stop to say bye, first."

  


"Inuyasha does seem a bit temperamental," Boton agreed.

  


"He is good for Kagome. He is a loyal friend." Mrs. Higarashi said with a frown.

  


"Uh...yes."

  


"If you knew Kagome was gone, why are you here?"

  


"We want to see the well," Yusuke butted in.

  


"Yusuke!" Kurama said. "Forgive him. There was so much to try to comprehend in so short a time. It has put everyone on edge."

  


She looked at the red-haired boy and nodded in understanding. "When Kagome first disappeared, it was very hard. We did not believe her story, thinking she was ill, until Inuyasha showed up to prove her words. He has the cutest ears!" she winked at Boton.

  


Boton giggled nervously. She had seen ears like that on a certain Youko Kurama and had to agree.

  


"If you would like to see the shrine and the Bone Eater's Well, I will take you. My father has told me all of the stories of the old days. I know the history of all the things here, but grandfather is usually the one to talk of such things." She rose and collected the cups and walked them back outside.

  


They took a quick tour with stops at the shrine house, God tree, and stopped at the well house. "I will leave you here. If you have need of anything else, grandfather or I will be happy to answer any questions. Feel free to look around." She started to leave.

  


"Wait!" Boton stopped her. "I don't understand why-why show us so much with no proof we are friends?" Boton was confused.

  


"My daughter is a smart child. She has seen and done more than I ever will. In some ways, she has grown to where I will never match her. In such things, I have no guidance to offer. If she trusted you, so too will I ." With that, she returned to her home to wait for her daughter once more.

  


"Oh..." Boton said in a small voice. Kurama stared after the woman's departing figure and wished he could believe his own mother could trust him so much. There were things that he ached to tell her. It hurt him to keep secrets from her. What hurt even more was that he knew that she knew he did so.

  


"This is it?" Kuwabara said kicking the wood doubtfully.

  


"Hn."

  


"Jump in," Yusuke said to Kuwabara.

  


"What?!"

"Come on. Are you scared?"

  


"WHAT?!"

  


"Ha!"

  


"I'll show you scared!" The big oaf threw one leg over the well rim and gulped. With a deep breath, he let go. "AAAAAaaaaaahhhhh-ouch."

  


"Idiot." Hiei said.

  


Kurama looked to the heavens for support and saw Koenma floating above them. He nodded a greeting which the child returned.

  


"If you had listened to Kagome's story, you would have remembered that you need a Shikon Shard or a strong link to Kagome herself to travel through the well," Koenma said.

  


Kuwabara pulled himself up the old latter. "Oh yeah. Forgot."

  


"What are you doing here?" Yusuke asked.

  


"I wanted to see the time portal," he hopped down and peered into the dark hole. "Ummm, not much to look at, is it?"

  


No one bothered to answer him. It was actually severely disappointing in appearance. He sighed. "Oh, _well_!" he snickered and looked to see if anyone heard him. They just looked bored. "Yes, ummm, ahhh...."he blinked, trying to think of something witty or dignified to say to repair the damage he had just inflicted upon himself with that pun. "I, uh, also wanted to be here to greet Kagome when she got back."

  


"She's coming back already?" Boton said surprised. "I thought she was usually gone for a least a week or more at a time."

  


"Hn."

  


"Yes, it seems that she had another fight with the dog. Seems he couldn't be civil to her because she smells like-" he stopped and blushed, "roses." He snuck a look at Kurama. "Well, that's the part of the conversation I caught, anyway," he continued, disappointed that Kurama showed no reaction to his news. Hiei glared at the floor. "Besides, they hadn't gotten very far with Kagome trying to fight in a kimono." He wiped invisible dust from his shirt. "She refused to wear the traditional Miko outfit."

  


"I don't blame her. She gets mistaken for that Kikyo person enough as it is."

  


Hiei stopped glaring at the floor and instead backed into the wall to watch the others. _Smells like roses? Heh! _He gritted his teeth. _Stupid fox...stupid dog, _he amended.

  


"When will they get here?" Yusuke asked.

  


"In about ten minutes?" he guessed. "...er...seconds." he said when a flash of blue light and a wave of unfamiliar energy flowed over them. They heard a voice.

  


"You better not take no hour-" sniff...a red and white blur dissolved into the golden eyed Inuyasha balanced on bare toes at the edge of the well. He sniffed the air and recognized the scents still clinging to Kagome. He growled and refused to loosen his grip on the sword at his side. "Kagome! Why are those strange people here?!" he yelled down the well, never taking his eyes off the strangers.

  


"Maa! Inuyasha! First it's my smell, then my clothes. Then, you say I'm too slow, and worthless in battle. What more could you possibly find to complain about now?" She stuck her head up over the edge and peered between Inuyasha's braced legs. "Oh! Why are you guys here?"

  
  
  
  



	11. Untimed Meeting

  
  


I hope to post two more chapters soon so be aware!

Sylavannastar

  


Untimed Meeting

  
  
  


Kagome heard Inuyasha growl. She pushed on his legs to move him out of her way and the unexpected motion sent him falling forward. 

  


Boton squeaked and threw her arms out to keep the hanyou from squashing her.

  


"Urrgh!"

  


"Eeeep!"

  


Thud.

  


"Oh! Boton, are you okay?" Kagome pulled Inuyasha off the other girl.

  


"Stupid bitch!" he yelled.

  


"Hey!" the girls said together, unsure who he was addressing. Either way it was insulting.

  


"Keh!" he turned his nose up at them and glared at the four boys and child.

  


"Inuyasha, be nice. I told you that they were friends." Kagome heard him growl again. "Don't make me say it..."

  


His eyes flashed dangerously at her. "Woman! You don't need these-"

  


She didn't let him finish, knowing whatever he said would be rude. "Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


"I'm sorry. He's in a very bad mood today," she apologized. 

  


"Damn it, woman! If you think-"

  


"Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


They winced. It was so much more painful looking in person than on the screen. He was bigger too. As tall as Kurama, with a mouth like Yusuke.

  


He spat out dirt and glared but didn't say anything else. He recognized the smell that had been the strongest on Kagome and located a the red-haired boy, Shuuichi. His golden eyes met green and narrowed in warning at the mild look of curiosity revealed there.

  


Kurama watched the dog demon eat dirt the second time, impassively. In his opinion, there was no need to be so disrespectful to a woman and so offered no sympathy to the half-demon. He was surprised by the look of open hostility he felt directed his way, though. Those gold eyes issued both threat and challenge and Kurama was intrigued. Youko was ready to spit and fight, while Shuuichi was confused and wanted to begin the peace talks. Then Kurama suddenly understood. The dog was possessive of Kagome and found him to be a threat. Interesting...He smiled knowingly and looked at Kagome, accepting the unspoken challenge. Sure enough, the hanyou growled again. Mischievously, his smile widened and he greeted Kagome politely, receiving one of her dazzling smiles. The growling increased in volume and intensity. He flashed his emerald eyes at the dog demon and winked. The growling abruptly stopped.

  


Inuyasha sat up. "Feh!" he colored slightly. _Kagome would never be interested in such a girly looking boy...would she? _His eyes fell on the moody fire demon in the shadows and just as easily slipped away. 

  


Hiei seethed. _Damn them all! Pass me over like I'm no threat..._Though Hiei was not interested in the girl like that, it irked him that the other males seemed to think he was incapable of winning in the mock battle for the girls attention. _I'll just show you!_ His red eyes glowed in annoyance as he smiled in the dark shadows. Just because he wasn't technically in the race didn't mean he couldn't beat them into a bloody pulp. He caught Kagome's eye and schooled his features into the much used expression of utter disgust. She looked surprised at first and then flashed him an angry look back. He turned his face away, as if dismissing her from his sight. It worked.

  


Kagome pried herself away from Inuyasha's grasp and Shuuichi's polite banter to glare at the demon leaning on the wall. They knew everything about her, but she didn't know anything about them. _And that-that_- she wasn't sure what kind of demon Hiei was. _To look at me like that! Ohhh!_

  


Hiei calmly stepped between them, keeping Kagome's angry gaze. He stopped next to Kurama and clearly said, "I win." And proceeded to walk casually out the door.__

  


"Win what?" Koenma looked confused.

  


Kuram looked down and saw Kagome's face flushed in anger with her silvery blue eyes flashing blue fire at the koorime's back. He started to laugh. The little fire demon had indeed gotten her attention! _Poor Hiei, if you think that is winning, I'm afraid what it will look like when one of us loses!_

  


Kagome smiled in response to his laughter and allowed her anger to vanish.__

  


_I won't be the one to lose this one, _he thought_. But what about the way I fight myself... How could I pull her into a relationship when I don't even know who I am myself?_ The sparkle in his eyes fadedas he stepped back to allow the others access to the doorway. He had no right to do such a thing to her. He sighed slowly. No he wouldn't lose. Because he wouldn't join the battle.

  


_Coward, _Youko snarled.

  


_Or perhaps incredibly brave..._Shuuichi replied quietly.

  


Kurama just let the familiar wave of loneliness wash over him. It was time to let this dream go. There was no future for any girl with a man who was actually two people. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed the others out.

  


Kagome chatted brightly with Boton for a few moments before excusing herself to shower and dress.

  


Boton noticed that Yusuke and Kuwabara were unusually quiet. They seemed to be sizing up the testy dog demon. Hiei was no where to be seen and Kurama was gently touching the god tree. Koenma was trying to establish some authority over the hanyou with no result.

  


"I ain't dead yet. And even when I am, I won't be taking no orders from a toddler!"

  


Koenma's face turned red.

  


Boton hurried to his side to avert disaster. "Oh, Inuyasha!" she began. "Can I see the sword? It's a very powerful sword isn't it?"

  


Inuyasha swivelled his ears in her direction. The sword was his pride and joy. She batted her eyelashes at him sweetly. He relaxed and tossed the weapon at her, sheath and all._ I obviously don't need it, _he thought, eyeing the child ruler.

  


Boton ohhed and ahhed over the sword and Inuyasha drew the blade and let it transform for her. It was bigger then he was but he carried it easily. And he looked so cool. Boton blushed when she realized where her thoughts were taking her. He had stopped scowling and was quite cute by any woman's standards. She wanted to touch his ears. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her.

  


Kurama was communing with the tree, Hiei was still gone, Yusuke and Kuwabara were bickering, Koenma was pouting...all was safe.

  


"Ummm," she hesitated.

  


"What?" he stepped back.

  


She blushed. "Can I-can I touch your ears?"

  


He looked at her surprised. "You know, you're the first person to _ask_ me." 

  


She turned a brighter shade of red. "Ahh, sorry-"

  


"It's okay." He tilted his head down." Just don't pull." He smiled a bit. "I really don't mind. It's nice to be asked once in a while."

  
  


Boton kept blushing but snatched the opportunity to rub the white tuft. He almost purred at her gentle touch. She snatched her hands back and stuck them behind her back.

  


"Ahh, thanks..."

  


He sheathed the sword, shrugged and walked back to the well house. "Tell Kagome I'll wait for her on the other side," he disappeared from the doorway.

  


"O-okay..." she was still embarrassed. She pulled her hands in front of her and steepled her fingers. She tried willing the blush to go away. _Maybe he wasn't so bad after all..._

  


"Hn."

  


Boton turned more red, her eyes widened as she whirled round. Hiei sat on the shed roof watching her.

  


"Shut up," she hissed.

  


He just stared at her until she ran for cover in the form of company by standing with Koenma. 

  


"Why does everyone treat me so disrespectfully, Boton?" he whined. "I am no toddler..."

  


Boton sighed miserably. She rubbed her fingers together, fascinated that she could still feel the silky texture of his fur on her finger tips. _No, he wasn't that bad at all._

  


*******************************************************************************************************

  


Kurama knew the moment that Kagome stepped back outside. The powerful hum of the God tree intensified in response to her presence. It sang and swayed in the wind to a tune only it could hear. The tree called to him, wanting to share a story about the life of a tree. It was calming and pure, like Kagome who the tree obviously resonated well with.

  


She came up behind him and laid a delicate hand next to his on the rough bark. "Ever since I was little, this tree was always special to me," she said quietly. "I used to come out and talk to it, when I was lonely, like another person. Still do...It's funny, but sometimes I felt like it was actually listening, or even talking back...like in a song I could never make out the words to..."

She pulled her hand away.

  


Kurama looked at the empty space sadly.

  


"Silly, huh?"

  


"Not at all," he said looking at her. "I can hear it too."

  


She smiled again. "Shuuichi, will you tell me your story someday?"

  


His human name on her lips snapped him back to the present. She really knew nothing about him. "Someday," he agreed.

  


Kagome spoke to Koenma and Boton for a few minutes more and bade goodbye to Yusuke and Kuwabara who were still bickering like brothers. Then she spotted Hiei who was now standing by the well house.

  


She marched up to him. "You know. You're obviously not as cold hearted as you try to make yourself out to be." She smiled gently at him. "Besides, I'm not gonna waste a beautiful day being angry for Kami knows whatever reason. Have a good day, Hiei." She walked into the well house and disappeared with a flash of energy. 

  


Hiei stood there, shocked. He had expected her to continue to be angry with him. Making her brood about his attitude toward her and her own reactions, insuring that his victory lasted at least several days. Instead, she was treating him friendly. He was confused so hid behind an indifferent "Hn."

  


"Still think you won?" Kurama asked by his side.

  


"Do you think you have, Fox?"

  


"No. I think she did."

  


"Hn."

  


"So what are you going to do now?"

  


"I will have a good day," he said and leapt to the roof top and disappeared in a blur of motion.

  


Kurama chuckled lightly. "You do that, Hiei." Smiling and feeling better, he told everyone good bye and made his own way home, stopping at the park and fountain to make a wish.

  


_Stupid human tradition...._Youko grumbled.

  


"Maybe," he said aloud, but made the wish anyway. _Maybe._

  


He made his way home, them to do some extra chores around the house so his mother could get in a few more hours sleep. Then, maybe he'd find an new book.

  
  
  
  
  



	12. Touched by Frost

  


This next chapter is mostly filler used to set up for future events.

  


And, remember when reading this first scene, Hiei's past. Hiei cares deeply for Yukina because she is all he has to care about. It is NOT an incestual kind of love. It is just the deep bond between siblings that have no one else. 

  


Also in response to a few reviews I have received...I decided to write this note.

  


Look, I know Hiei and Kurama are not gay and were never meant to be portrayed that way. In my fic, Hiei is Not Gay! Kurama is also Not Gay! However, I was informed that in the Japanese culture, the fox is a symbol of sexuality and passion. It is generally portrayed as a very lustful animal, whether it is desiring the possession of an object (hense Youko's profession) or an attitude of sexuality (preference disregarded). So, I am using Youko as an extreme example of these characteristics. But, even Youko is Not Gay! He's just not really concerned one way or another. Not that I have anything against this, but I have my reasons for the way I set up the characters. I will not have any real Yoai in my fic, but the attraction of Youko to Hiei is just a passing thing that allows us to better understand the vast difference between Shuuichi and Youko in the one body. The demon is the embodiment of power and passion while the human is the calming and serious side of Kurama. I want the extremes to clash. You see, Kagome has to learn to love them both...and Kurama doesn't think this will ever happen.

  


Explained any better?

  


Well, *sigh* I'll try harder to get my point across. There is a scene in the next two chapters about Youko and his desire for Hiei and it involves the feelings of all involved. I am not going to change my characters, so if you do not want to read this, skip it. But don't get upset that I wrote it in there. It is not graphic...it is just a conversation between them.

  


Thanks.

  


Sylvannastar

  


Touched by Frost

  


Hiei sat in the upper branches of a tall tree, watching the pale glimmer of his sister talking to herself. Kagome reminded him of her. Kagome had that same inner purity as Yukina. That's what drew him to her. He was disgusted with himself. He had been looking at Kagome as a sister substitute because he lacked the nerve to approach his real sister. He wanted her to see him; to know him. But he would not allow himself to chance corrupting her goodness. So why try to-no, want to allow Kagome close if she was so much like Yukina? Because she had already proven her resilience to the darkness of others. If only he could be sure Yukina had that same strength. Then he wouldn't be so alone. And so unforgiven. 

  


With one last longing glance at the happy face of his sister, he left. He wasn't sure where he was going or maybe he didn't care. Either way, he needed to be away. He ran away from his loneliness by embracing it. If he made the choices that made him alone, it didn't quite hurt so bad. Hiei had always been alone. No family, no friends, no ties. Yukina was the only connection to his heart. He would protect her always from afar, because he could never taint the link to the family and love he never had.

  


With a blur of motion, Hiei returned to the Makai with every intention of picking a fight and killing something. It was something he felt the urge to do more and more often. It was because she was still here...Yukina was so close to him when he could never be close to her. Loneliness was crippling. He was hurting inside...and damn, if he wasn't going to share THAT emotion. 

  


******************************************************************************************************

  


Koenma followed Yusuke and Kuwabara back to Yusuke's house. Boton trailed slowly behind them, plucking absently at the sleeves of her pink kimono.

  


"Why are you following us? Don't you have some forms to stamp? People to send to hell?"

  


"Well, actually no. George is doing that today..."he said, referring to his employee, the blue ogre. He didn't take the hint. "I'll just follow you guys around today!"

  


"What!?"

  


"You heard me!"

  


"I'm not babysitting you in the human world!" Yusuke yelled.

  


"I'm your next assignment." Koenma said with a glitter in his dark eyes. "You are going to protect me for the day."

  


"No way!"

  


"You like your life, don't you?"

  


"Koenma!"

  


"Well, see you later, Urameshi!" Kuwabara grinned. "I'm off to see my love!"

  


"Kuwabara, don't you leave me here like this!"

  


"Sorry, Urameshi. Yukina calls!"

"Damn it! Why me? Why didn't you follow Kurama or Hiei?"

  


"Because I don't feel like sitting in the library or bathing in the blood of others. You're it, so get over it."

  


"I don't believe this!" Yusuke crossed his arms and stomped past his house.

  


"Umm. Yusuke? Isn't that your-" Boton said.

  


"I'm not letting my mother see me walking around with a two year old," he growled.

  


Koenma transformed into his teen self and shed his official robes for a more casual outfit. "How's this?"

  


"Worse. You can explain a pacifier on a toddler, not an adult."

  


"Oh."

  


"Koenma-sir?" Boton offered. "Why not transform that into something else too?"

  


He looked at her from the corner of his eye and took her suggestion to heart.

  


"Whhahahahahahaha!" Yusuke looked at the giant rainbow sucker in Koenma's hands.

  


"Maybe not..."

  


"WHAhahahahahahha!" 

  


Koenma glared at Yusuke through the neon green, star-shaped sunglasses he now sported. "Hmmm..."

  


WHAHA...ha...ha...can't....hahahaha...breath...hahhhaaha!" Thunk. Yusuke fell to the sidewalk. 

  


Boton hurried to his side to help. She looked up at her boss. "It is a bit much, sir"

  


"Think so?" He reached up and removed the yellow and pink pok-a-dot- bandana from his head. "Well, what do you suggest?"

  


"How about a necklace? Something simple..."

  


"Umm...I can do that."

  


"Uhhh, something simpler, maybe," she said eyeing the spiked collar. A thin silver chain with a charm on the end that read, JR. appeared. "Perfect!" she applauded.

  


Yusuke sat up and rubbed his aching ribs. "Ohhh." He looked at the teen Koenma. "Don't do that again. That hurt almost as much as Genkai's training."

  


"So what are we gonna do?"

  


"I'm going to Kieko's She said she had plans."

  


"Great! I'll join you."

  


"Damn it!"

  


Boton knew she wasn't needed so she let them walk further away from her. She needed some time to figure out why she felt so down. She passed a park and slowly walked through the trees and seated herself on the wooden rail of a short bridge. The water below her was filled with colorful carp that swam in lazy circles. It was peaceful and quiet. Peace...Quiet; things she had almost forgotten. 

  


She watched as a new blossom, killed by the morning frost, drifted down onto the still water. Its ripple shattered her reflection. She kind of felt like that blossom. Frozen alive. Boton was a living spirit, who's job it was to deal with the spirits of the dead. So where was her true place? With the living, or with the dead? She had never felt quite at home with either. She rubbed her fingers together absently. Boton was lost.

  


*****************************************************************************************************

  


"That was almost pointless!" Inuyasha was complaining again. "You bathe, you stay and talk, and then you stink again!"

  


"I do not stink!"

  


"You don't smell like them as much as you did before." Shippo said. Besides, I like knowing that there is another Kitsune who can take care of you when I'm here."

  


"Feh!"

  


"Thank you, Shippo," Kagome said amused.

  


"You don't take care of her now!" Inuyasha growled.

  


"Do too!"

  


"You can't even take care of yourself."

  


"Can so!"

  


"You're pretty useless and I bet that other kitsune isn't much better."

  


"Kagome!"

  


"Inuyasha, quit picking on Shippo. He is very strong and helps me a lot." She ruffled his hair. "And why would you say such a thing about Shuuichi? He's a good person and from what I've heard, very strong."

  


"Keh!"

  


"Do you like this Shuuichi?" Sango asked in innocence. She had caught the end of the conversation with Kagome defending the boy.

  


Inuyasha snorted. "As if Kagome could fall for such a pretty boy. Really girly...smells like flowers."

  


Sango raised an eyebrow.

  


"Yes," Kagome answered. "They all seem like the kind of people that you can count on. It won't be so hard to go home knowing that there are people there that I can trust. Like you guys!"

  


Sango smiled and scooted closer. "Is this guy pretty?"

  


Kagome fiddled with the strap of her backpack. "Yes and no. He reminds me of Sesshoumaru in a way."

  


Sango looked surprised. "Ah! I see..."

  


"What?! You think my brother is pretty?" Inuyasha was flabbergasted. ^.^

  


"No, " Kagome said calmly, "I think that Sesshoumaru is beautiful. And," she paused for effect, "entirely male."

  


Inuyasha's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious! Are you?"

  


Kagome looked over at Sango. "What do you think?"

  


"I agree. Who could resist a man that beautiful and that charmingly masculine?" Sango hid her smile in Kirara's fur. Taunting Inuyasha was everyone's favorite past time. "You are so lucky, Kagome, to have such a perfect guy to help you when you go home."

  


"Yes, aren't I, though." Kagome had trouble keeping a straight face and had to turn away form Inuyasha's searching eyes.

  


Shippo watched Kagome's face and understood the joke. But when he looked into Kagome's eyes, he saw a hint of truth there she couldn't hide. He smiled gleefully. Kagome was practically his mother and Inuyasha was anything but father material. And having another kitsune around suited him just fine!

  


"Arrghh! Take that back, Kagome! You don't need them! I'm here to protect you! You know that!"

  


Inuyasha was actually getting upset. Kagome stopped teasing. "I know, Inuyasha. You are always here for me." She gave him a quick hug which he did not return. "There, now I even smell like you." She sniffed. Uhhh! Inuyasha, you need a bath!"

  


He slumped in defeat. There was just no way to win. Shippo and Sango dissolved into laughter.

  


That's where Miroku found them minutes later. "Can you guys be more serious? I found us a place to stay the night."

  


"Let me guess. Another ominous black cloud is descending?"

  


"Exactly. But I won't expect them to believe me if I lead a group of giggling women and children in their midst." He reached a hand out for Sango. "Though they are such lovely-ouch!" She slapped his hand away.

  


"You might as well give up, Miroku. You're not pretty enough for them." Inuyasha stomped ahead.

  


"Huh?"

  


The girls started laughing again. Things were looking up! 

  


****************************************************************************************************

  


"Koenma sir!"

  


The door burst open causing George to look up hastily, miss the file, and stamp the back of his hand. Again.

  


"We have a prob- oh, hi George. Where's Koenma?"

  


"Out." The ogre moaned and shifted the huge stack of forms so he could see who had come in.

  


"..." 

  


"Well, what's the problem?"

  


"....uh, there is a demon loose in the human world."

  


"What!?"

  


The door swung open suddenly, smacking the first messenger into the wall. "Koenma, sir! We have a situat-" the new voice started. "Uh, where's Koenma?"

  


"Out!" George desperately tried to catch the stack of folders sliding dangerously close tot he edge of the desk. "What's wrong?"

  


"Well, there is a demon escaped into the human-"

  


" I know. They just told me." George indicated the fallen messenger. They looked at each other uncomfortably. 

  


"Uh, he's from another department." They said together.

  


"So?"

  


"That means that there is more then one demon loose...in ...the ..." gulp. George looked seriously stressed. The first messenger stood next to the second, both holding thick files in their hands, uncertain what to do with them, since Koenma was gone.

  


SLAM!

  


Both messengers hit the floor, scattering papers and forms.

  


"Koenma, sir! We just got word that-"

  


"Don't say it!" George pleaded, about to cry. 

  


"But sir! There is a demon that got through the barrier! It's in the hum-"

  


"Aahhahhawhawhaw! Koenma sir...Please! Come back!" George cried. He was determined to never pick on the child ruler and his sometimes outrageous decisions again. "You said I just had to stamp a few files! Whaa!"


	13. Regret

This chapter is mostly about Hiei...

  


Regret

  


Hiei was bored when Boton found him training in the forest. The trip to the Makia had been uneventful and a waste of his time. He actually found himself preferring the human world and all it's annoyances to the stupidity inherent to the majority of demon kind, found in the other world.

  


He sensed Boton coming before she locked onto his location and considered whether or not he wanted to be found. He covered his jagon and waited, his decision made with the same quickness with which he moved. 

  


"Hiei!" The bubbly girl shouted.

  


"What?"

  


Boton stopped beside him, floating on her oar. "We have a problem. Do you know where Koenma is?"

  


"With Yusuke."

  


"I know that! But where? I have to find him!"

  


Hiei glowered and focused his energies into seeking out the child ruler. "He's in the city...surrounded by many humans...you won't find him in that mass."

  


"But you can."

  


"Hn."

  


"Hiei, this is important! There are three demons in the human world! We have to-"

  


"Then I'll take care of it."

  


"Wha-" Boton rubbed her ears, sure she had heard wrong. "You'll...?"

  


Hiei glared at her. "I have nothing else to do and I feel like killing something anyway. How did three demons get through at the same time?"

  


"Uh," Boton shifted and touched her feet to the ground. "They didn't. It's three separate cases."

  


"Hn." He jumped into the nearest tree and retrieved his over shirt. "They must not be very strong. I can hardly sense any other demonic energy then the ones that are supposed to be here."

  


"Well, they are just lower class demons...are you sure-" Boton started to say.

  


"Hn." Was all he said.

  


Boton watched Hiei for all of the two seconds it took him to be out of sight. _I guess that problem is taken care of...should I tell George or look for Koenma? _ She stared in the distance, watching the trees sway gracefully in the wind_. I'm sure Hiei can handle it. Koenma can enjoy his day out._

  


_******************************************************************************************************_

  


"That was too damn easy!" Hiei snarled and wiped the blood off his blade. He sat down abruptly where he stood and propped his chin in his hand.He glared at the three bodies with such intensity, they started to smoulder. He stared, as if waiting for them to spring back up and fight him again, perhaps this time offering a challenge. They, unfortunately, remained dead.

  


Hiei placed his sword in his lap and leaned forward until his forehead rested on one knee. _I didn't even enjoy killing them. What's wrong with me? I almost...pitied them. _

  


He shuddered and tried to recall the feelings he had been experiencing while he took care of the cases. First, he was consumed with the usual anticipation of a fight, but upon seeing his opponents, he became...disappointed. _This isn't normal...I would usually just be...bored. Or indifferent. _Disappointment implied that he cared in one way or another. It meant he had expectations. _If I begin to expect things from this world and the people in it, then others will begin to expect certain things from me! _Hiei found this unacceptable. He wanted no part in the tangled relationships of others. If he remained aloof and distant, he would be untouchable from the pains and wounds inflicted on a caring heart. He had no intentions to allow others to become close enough to be hurt by his actions, both past and future. Hiei did not believe he could change.

  


But...he was beginning to feel he was missing out and that the half life he was living was worse then any death he could imagine. _I...regret. _

  


Hiei could not feel that he had any part of the decisions of others. He could not influence the people of his past and childhood. But when he had become old enough to change how his life was lived, he hadn't. Was that his regret? Was it that he had the power to really share with others and didn't? Or was it because he had never considered that he might want to..until now.

  


Hiei admitted this to himself and wondered why this affliction was plaguing him now, after three years of being part of the spirit detective team. _Or was that it? That is the root of my thoughts...I never was a part of anything for so long as this...the team is my regret. No, that's not right. That I have learned how to not be lonely, through the team...that I know what it is I am not part of...that I see the interactions of others and am still determined to remain outside of it all. Even when it's all I ever wanted. That is my regret. I know what I do not have. _

  


Hiei remembered Kurama's words then, to Touya, during their match in the Dark Tournament. The fox had said "That is what this light does." It makes you regret. 

  


Hiei snarled at himself and the gore covered bodies began to smoke. The smell of the dead youkai and the congealed blood turned his stomach. With a thought, the bodies were reduced to cinders and Hiei found that to be the only action that had satisfied him all day long. He sniffed in disdain for his own stupid thoughts and decided to forget this inner revelation. He was a demon. And not a very nice one at that. _Regret? No way in hell..._

  


******************************************************************************************************

  


Koenma sucked on his pacifier, taking comfort in the spirit energy stored in it. He had returned from one of the best outings he had ever had to _this!_

  


The room contained enough files that a few of the stacks threatened to burst from the room by knocking down a wall or two. George, was somewhere in there, stamping away. Koenma could hear the muffled "thunk" of the stamp and was both annoyed and relieved at the conditions. The excessive amount of work was a bother, but nothing major seemed to have gone wrong in his absence. _If, I'm quiet, perhaps I can still sneak out and leave George to-_

  


"Koenma sir!" 

  


He jumped about three feet off the floor and felt his knees give out under him. "Boton! If you ever do that to me again I'll be sure-"

  


He never got to finish the threat. "Koenma, sir!" George echoed in pure relief. "You came back!"

  


"Of course I came back you nit-wit. I was only gone for a day."

  


"Ahhwhahawhwhwaaw!" the ogre sobbed. 

  


"What is wrong with you? It's just a stamp pad, ogre."

  


"Awwhahwahawa...wha..ahh..ha..sniffle"

  


"Oh, for-George stop that blubbering and tell me what the problem is." Koenma said crossly.

"Boton?" Koenma switched his attention to the ferry girl of souls. 

  


"Well, sir, there was a few little incidents." Boton nervously inched toward the door. She took a deep breath, knowing what question was coming next. _Might as well get this over with..._

  


"Such as?"

  


"ThreedemonsescapedintothehumanworldandHieivolunteeredtotakecareofitsoyoudidnothavetoworry."

  


George nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of one fist.

  


"Three Demons- wait, did you say Hiei Volunteered?!"

  


"Yeah."

  


"oh..." He blinked at her and then sighed. _It's about time. I was starting to wonder if he really was redeemable...time to get back to work_..."Okay, explain."

  


"It's this way, Koenma-sir. We don't know how they got out or why they got out. They just did."

  


"Three demons do not just get together and decide to take a stroll across the barrier, ogre." Koenma felt a headache starting.

  


"Um, as to that, they weren't together. It was three separate crossings, though they met up after they got out."

  


"Impossible!" Koenma's eyes widened.

  


"I'm afraid not, sir."

  


"A fluke, perhaps?" Boton suggested.

  


_God, I hope so. I can't think of any other explanation. _Koenma grimaced and thought about what his father would have to say about this one. Unconsciously, his hand moved to cover his backside. _Maybe he won't find out..._

  


A long silence filled the room. 

  


_Yeah right._

  


****************************************************************************************************


	14. Kagome's Return

  


Thank you to the following reviewers: Shinigami Clara, ixi, Despiteful Saint, Artemis the Goddess, watergoddesskasey, Darkened Skyes, Dark Topaz, Buffybot76, DemonLady1, KoiKokoro, Diaphanous, Forsaken Silence, Kurama-Kagome12, and Cerulean Rose

  


I think I answered all the concerns two chapters back, but since I am posting multiple chapters, I will do this one here. And thank's for correcting my spelling on Kagome's name...I'll go back and fix that later this weekend. 

If you spot any other mistakes, point them out! I am perfectly willing to go back and repair what damage I've left behind from my abominable typing skills.

  


Kagome's Return

  
  
  


Exactly one week later, Kagome hauled herself out of the damp well and sat unmoving on the floor of the shed. She was so tired...

  


"Need help?"

  


She looked up quickly. "Oh, Shuuichi. I could use a bit of help." She agreed with a smile.

  


"I see,"he pulled the yellow backpack from her numb fingers and shouldered it easily. She pushed herself to her feet with a groan and stumbled toward the doorway. The sunshine fell around her, blinding her for a minute. She latched onto his arm for support. 

  


"Ah! Sorry. It's just that I haven't seen the sun in a week!" She smiled and turned her face into the warm glow. "So bright!"

  


Kurama took in her soaked and bedraggled appearance. "Been raining, I see," he said trying to start a conversation.

  


"You can tell?" she laughed as she rung out her long hair and the hem of her skirt. The puddle at her feet got steadily bigger. "I swear I must be wrinkled all over!" She examined her fingertips and grimaced at the feeling of being so wet.

  


He raised both eyebrows and tried not to picture that last comment. Youko wasn't helping.

  


"You know, even after being soaked through for the past six days, I come home and immediately want a hot bath, hot food, and my pillow!" She laughed at herself. "I look like a prune and I'm already dreaming about the shower."

  


Kurama wisely said nothing. Youko's comments wouldn't do to repeat and Shuuichi seemed to be choking on his thoughts.

  


She took off one shoe and poured out a thin stream of water, then repeated the process. Her wet socks left strange foot prints which she examined absently. "So what are you doing here? You have good timing, I must say!" she said.

  


"Koenma told me you were on your way back." Kurama answered with a slight smile gracing his lips. "I chose to greet you here; to see if you needed any help."

  


"How would Koenma know I was-" she stopped. "He's been spying on me, hasn't he?"

  


"Mmm..." he wasn't sure what to say because that is the way he felt about it too.

  


"I knew I wasn't imagining things when I thought someone was watching me! That little pervert!" she crossed her arms angrily, pulling her wet shirt taught across her chest.

  


Shuuichi gulped and turned his face away. He walked her to her house and hastily set the bag down. "You know, all you have to do is call out and we will hear. One of us will be here to help should you need us."

  


She turned to face him. "Thank you. Oh! I almost forgot!" she dug into the bag at her feet. "Shippo asked me to give you something. From one fox to another, he said." She pulled a wrapped cloth from a side pocket and handed it to him. "I don't know what it is, but he worked on it constantly this week."

  


He took the wrapped bundle from her. 

  


"Well, I'm gonna go in and get cleaned up. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

  


"Huh? Oh, indeed!" he looked into her welcoming blue-grey eyes. "Actually, we usually walk together, except Kuwabara who comes from a different direction. You're welcome to join us."

  


"Oh!" she seemed surprised by the invitation. 

  


"You realize, even if you don't, one of us will be tailing you anyway to be sure you are okay."

  


She laughed again. "So, I might as well join you, huh?" She ducked her head and nodded. "Okay."

  


"Then I will see you tomorrow." He waved once and left.

  


**************************************************************************************************

  


Kagome pulled the door closed behind her with a soft click, and leaned against it thinking. She wasn't expecting to be looked after so completely, but she found she had no complaints. She smiled at her own hypocrisy. With Inuyasha, it was hovering. With Shuuichi, it was sweet. One boy made her feel inadequate, and the other made her feel cared for. Inuyasha didn't feel that she could look after herself for even a minute. Shuuichi just seemed concerned, like the friend she always wished Inuyasha would be.

  


The same action by two different guys produced drastically different reactions on her part. She sighed. _I need to think this through. Perhaps I'm not being fair to Inuyasha...or giving to much credit to Shuuichi...for doing his job. That's right. Either way, I'm a responsibility. One by necessity because I can see the jewel shard and one because it comes with the job. _She sighed again. _I will not feel sorry for myself. _"Mama! I'm home!" she called out and ran up the stairs to hit the shower.

  


***************************************************************************************************

  


(This is the Kurama/Youko and Hiei scene I was mentioning before...skip it if it bothers you.)

  
  


Kurama walked slowly to the park he always visited and found a deserted bench to sit at. He leaned his head back to look as the wind played with the new leaves of the sturdy tree above him. The blossoms would begin falling soon, carpeting the forest floors below. He closed his eyes and let the breeze play through his long hair in the same way.

  


Being around that girl was energized and calmed him. It was a confusing contradiction. When he opened his eyes a dark shape with two flame red eyes was looking down on him in disgust.

  


"Hn." it said tonelessly. 

  


"Good day, Hiei," Kurama said pleasantly. Hiei rolled his eyes and dropped down from the tree without even a whisper of a sound. He joined Kurama on the bench. 

  


Kurama continued to look up at the now empty tree branches. Several minutes passed in silence.

  


"Stop sitting like that. It hurts my neck just watching you." Hiei growled annoyed.

  


Kurama sat up and turned his amused green eyes at the moody demon. "Since you asked so nicely..."

  


"Whatever."

  


Silence fell between them again. Kurama waited patiently for his friend to reveal why he had decided to seek him out. With Hiei, there was always a reason. As the silence grew longer, the little koorime started to get agitated. The only reason Kurama could tell was the slight twitching

of Hiei's fingers on his sword arm. 

  


He decided to let the fire demon work out what ever was bothering him and turned his focus inward.

  


_Make a move, stupid. _Youko growled in frustration.

  


_For Kami's sake, No! _Shuuichi replied.

  


_Why not you just let the girl get away!_

  


_Have you no morals?_

  


_Keh! You're an idiot. Look at him. He's so cute when he's mad! _The youko said lustfully.

  


"Why do you _do_ that!?" Hiei suddenly said loudly.

  


Kurama let the voices fade away. "Do what?"

  


"Why do you look at me like that?" Hiei's face almost glowed but from anger or embarrassment, Kurama wasn't sure.

  


_So cute! _ A voice said. He pushed it away.

  


"Sorry. It's the Youko in me," he sighed.

  


"Hn," Hiei said looking at him from the corner of one eye. "The Youko is you."

  


"So is the human." Kurama shoved his hands through his hair. Hiei watched the movement without blinking. He didn't expect Hiei to understand.

  


"So which are you now?" Hiei eyed hin in a way that reminded him of the look students gave a particularly disturbing lump of food from the school cafeteria. 

  


"Both."

  


"Explain."

  


"I am at times caught between both human and fox. I can hear both sides of myself without being either one. The two don't always agree."

  


"You make it sound as if you are three people now."

  


"..."

  


"So what is it the Youko wants from me?" He suddenly uncrossed his arms and leaned away from the sudden predatory expression on his teammates face and the flash of golden eyes.

  


"Come closer and find out for yourself," a slightly deeper and more husky voice purred.

  


Hiei turned red and tried to scoot as far away as the bench would allow.

  


Kurama sighed and pushed the fox spirit back again. His eyes returned to their normal vibrant green. "Sorry." He made to stand up and leave, his green eyes sad and shoulders tense. He had probably just ruined what little comradery they had had. 

  


"Wait..." Hiei said quietly. You just startled me," he actually admitted.

  


Kurama looked at him surprised.

  


"Well, sit down!" Hiei muttered. " You're tall enough as it is." 

  


Kurama sat back down. The long silences were still there, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He his a relieved smile and watched a few of last year's leaves blow around their feet.

  


"If Youko's yearnings are such a problem, why not find some willing human to satisfy him?" Hiei picked the topic back up. He was trying to understand the intricacies of relationships. 

  


"The two don't always agree, remember? I'll not transform and have to fight to return to normal for so paltry an excuse."

  


"You- I mean, they agree on me?" Hiei sounded confused.

  


"Not really. Not in that way." He could feel his own embarrassment at having to discuss this. "Youko is attracted to beautiful people."

  


Hiei's face flamed. He had never considered himself beautiful. He hadn't really looked at himself in any particular way at all.

  


"Stupid fox," he grumbled.

  


Kurama flashed him a disgruntled look.

  


"Shuuichi, on the other hand, sees someone he respects greatly and would call a friend."

  


This seemed to surprise Hiei more then Youko's feelings. He stared at Kurama and could feel the truth of that radiating from him. _A friend?_

  


"Hn." he hid behind the noncommital reply.

  


"Confusing?" Kurama chuckled.

  


Hiei looked at him. "I thought my own internal struggles were bad."

  


"You have internal struggles? No, not Hiei." Kurama teased.

  


"Baka," he replied, with no real heat in the word.

  


"If you think that's bad, figure this one out. Youko likes Shuuichi, too."

  


Hiei looked at him as if he had grown two heads. Then he started laughing.

  


Kurama had never seen the fire demon truly laugh before. It was an unexpected experience, even if it was at his expense, he could enjoy being there for such a rare moment.

  


Hiei laughed until tears were rolling down his face. Kurama endured this with a self-mocking smile of his own.

  


Hiei stood up finally with a grin on his face and a sparkle in his normally serious eyes. "I'll just leave you two alone together."

  


Kurama sighed. "That's the problem, Hiei."

  


Hiei snorted again but didn't lose the smile. He leapt up into the tree in one smooth motion. He looked down at his friend, _yes...friend..._again and chuckled before disappearing in a blur._It seems as if even Kurama doesn't have all the answers..._

  


Kurama was left wondering what the little fire demon had sought him out for to begin with.

  


He looked down at the still wrapped package in his hands and pocketed it. He rose to leave himself.

  


_He's even sexier when he laughs. _Youko whispered.

There was only one acceptable answer to that. "Shut up."


	15. Back to School

Back to School

  


The next morning, Yusuke stomped down the road to meet the others. He glared at anyone who had the nerve to look at him. He was still recovering form the previous weekend of towing Koenma around behind him and Keiko.

  


It had been the most horrible day of his life...or death. He grimaced, remembering the torture of making the child ruler of hell pass for a normal teenager while Keiko dragged him shopping. Koenma had enjoyed himself immensely and even Keiko had fun. Yusuke was determined to never repeat that experience.

  


No matter where they had gone, they had run into people they knew, and had to stop and talk. Koenma was introduced as Yusuke's cousin. The brat had done everything imaginable to ruin Yusuke's carefully maintained reputation, from karaoke, to having demanded Yusuke get one of those pictures in the mall booths on a sign labeled "wanted: good friends" with a picture of the three of them squeezed into the narrow square.

  


He had chanced going to school last Monday and was dealing with the repercussions of that day out. 

  


"Yusuke, where's your cute cousin?"

  


"Yusuke, I didn't know you could sing!"

  


"Yusuke, Keiko showed me your picture!"

  


He had skipped the rest of the week.

  


He didn't feel particularly like going today either, but Keiko had called and chewed his ear off the night before. Though he'd never admit it, he'd do anything to make her happy. Even face his own lack of self-respect since that day.

  


He spotted the others standing on the corner and marched over. "I'm here," he said rather uselessly. They kept standing there. "What are we waiting for?" he grumbled.

  


"Yusuke, are you in a hurry to go to school?" Kurama teased.

  


Yusuke rolled his eyes and leaned on the light pole.

  


"We're waiting for Kagome." Boton cheerfully informed him.

  


"Oh, I didn't realize she was back." he shrugged.

  


"I hope she hurries or we'll be late," Keiko worried.

  


"Don't worry," Boton waved aside her friends fear. "Hiei said he'd bring her. He told me this morning that Kurama had forgotten to tell Kagome where we meet."

  


"I did, didn't I?" he realized. "I hadn't noticed that Hiei was there to over hear our conversation. He's gotten better at hiding himself."

  


"He said you were distracted." Boton's voice had gone mockingly sweet.

  


Kurama didn't reply. She smiled behind her hand. She thought it was cute. And she relished the new experience of being able to watch the development of a new relationship from its very beginning.

  


She knew her own chances of finding a guy to be in a serious relationship with were slim to nil, considering that all the guys she met were, well, dead...or ogre's and they weren't really her type. Except for her friends on the team and Inuyasha, she didn't see many others. She pictured the curious golden eyes and soft white hair in her mind. She sighed. "What am I thinking?" she berated herself. 

  


"Yes, what are you thinking, Boton? You've been standing there sighing and tying your necktie in knots for the past five minutes. Are you okay?" Yusuke asked her.

  


"Yes, I'm fine!" she ignored the first question. "My, where could those two be?"

  


"You're the one who said not to worry," Keiko reminded her.

  


"Yes, well, uuhhh..."Keiko, did you finish your literature assignment?"

  


"Boton, all we have to do is bring in our favorite poem or song to share with the class."

  


"I know. Did you remember?"

  


"Don't I always?" Keiko smiled.

  


"Did anyone tell Kagome?"

  


"Huh? No, I didn't think...Well, the teacher thinks that she's been ill, so maybe he'll let her not do the assignment."

  


Kurama listened to every word they said. "I take it Yusuke filled you in on Kagome's story."

  


"Yes. He told me last weekend."

  


"Perhaps we should help her," he suggested.

  


"What do you mean? Isn't that what we are doing now?" Yusuke asked.

"I mean with school. We all have classes with her. We can make sure we get the assignments to her and take notes for when she must be absent."

  


"You're right, Kurama. It must be hard on her not being in class all the time."

  


"I don't go to class and I'm still passing." Yusuke said from the light pole.

  


"Barely," Keiko rolled her eyes.

  


Kurama chuckled. "They are on their way. I can feel Hiei's energy from here."

  


"'Bout time," Yusuke complained.

  


**************************************************************************************************

  


Kagome hopped on one foot, trying to pull the mostly dry shoe over her clean socks and smoothing her new pale blue uniform skirt. "Mama! I'm going!" She tapped her toe on the floor to slide her foot all the way in and grabbed her school bag.

  


"Bye, dear!" Mrs. Higurashi called from the kitchen.

  


Kagome ran past the God Tree and the silent well shed, thinking for once about her future and not the past. She skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs. A familiar prickle told her to look up.

  


"Good morning, Hiei!" she smiled up at him. He dropped down beside her from the shrine roof and mumbled something in the way of a greeting.

  


"I take it you know where we are going?"

  


"Yes."

  


"So, how have you been?" she asked brightly.

  


"Fine."

  


"Did you do anything interesting? Solve a new case?"

  


"No."

  


"Visit with your friends or family?"

  


"No."

  


"Eat, drink of sleep in the last week?"

  


"N–" he looked at her.

  


She winked at him. They walked in silence a short time. She didn't like the quiet. "You know, you don't have to be so lonely. You have good friends there for you."

  


"I never said I was lonely."

  


"You didn't have to. It's in your eyes. You remind me of Sango when she first joined us."

  


He glowered darkly at her.

  


"I'd like to be your friend, Hiei," she said, "if you'll let me."

  


He swallowed the lunp in his throat. _First Kurama, now this girl. Am I letting people get to close? No, I haven't changed. These two are just unusually stubborn. _He looked at her. Her innocent eyes, like Yukina's were direct and happy. He couldn't out right deny her._ "_Hn," he said.

  


She smiled at him wickedly. "Maybe some day you'll be my friend too."

  


He blinked at her. "Isn't it the same thing?"

  


"Of course not. Oh, look! There they are!" she waved a hello and quickened her pace to meet them.

  


He hung back, pondering her words. She slowed and reached back to grab his hand and pull him along behind her. "Let's go, Hiei! Our friends look impatient."

  


He was too surprised to protest.

  


She let go of his hand as soon as they caught up with the others. While she talked and laughed with the other girls, Hiei held back to walk behind and watch over them all. He wasn't surprised when Kurama moved to walk with him. It seemed companionable to be walking next to the other demon. He saw the green eyes regarding him curiously. Hiei gave him a look, daring him to ask. Then he grinned.

  


"So, have you found a new love interest yet, Kurama?" Hiei asked loudly.

  


"New love? I didn't know you had an old one," Yusuke said, dropping in on the conversation.

  


"I don't," Kurama answered.

  


"No, he's too wrapped up in himself!" Hiei snickered.

  


Kurama glared at him, promicing revenge.

  


"Kurama?" Kagome's quiet voice echoed. "I've heard them call you that before. I thought your name was Shuuichi."__

  


_"_It is," he said, ignoring the others. "It's part of that long story I promised to tell you later." 

  


"Oh. So which do I call you?"

  


"When around other humans, call me Shuuichi," he smiled gently at her.

  


"Okay."

  


They arrived at the school in plenty of time for the first class to start.

  


Hiei disappeared abruptly. Kagome waved at the tree line across the street, knowing he was over there some where. Hiei almost waved back, even though he knew she couldn't see him. He looked at the betraying hand in disgust. He leapt away with a sigh, to go check on Yukina and the temple, like he did every day.__

  
  



	16. The Company We Keep

  


I want to thank ixi, SurfAngel, Katzztar, Shinigami-chan, Shinigami Clara, Artemis the Goddess, Dark Topaz, sky-918, Hinoke, Elyndewen Startree and Kinky Usagi who has an awesome site beginning for IY/YYH Xovers! Just what we all were waiting for right!? Someone finally had the initiative to make one!

  


Any way, there weren't any questions...but I'm posting five chapters this time so enjoy!

  


Also-

  


This chapter has my fav. Poem in it as requested by one of my best friends, and it is a bit long, but the characters will be recalling the words and meaning of the verses in later chapters. It is the Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (an Indian Elder)

  


The Company We Keep

  


Now that Kagome had relaxed around them, she seemed to be an entirely different person. The mischievous twinkle hardly ever left her eyes. Kurama was enchanted. He watched when the chance presented itself and saw that her good humor was contagious. Even Yusuke was pulled out from his gloomy mood by her jokes and stories. She was smart and wise in a way Kurama had never seen in a human so young. He wasn't sure when Youko had started looking at the girl in a way other then lustful.

  


They were halfway through lunch when Keiko suddenly remembered to tell Kagome about their literature assignment. Kagome laughed easily. "This I can do. I already have a favorite poem. Keiko you had me scared, there!"

  


"But it's due today." Boton said.

  


"That's okay. I have it memorized."

  


"Can we hear it?" Keiko asked suddenly.

  


"It's rather long..."

  


"Think of it as practice before class." Boton smiled.

  


"Ah, I guess..." she blinked.

  


Yusuke pretended to snore. Keiko hit him with her apple core.

  


Kagome ignored him. "It's called the Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer."

  


"What kind of name is that?" Kuwabara's laugh was strangely high-pitched for such a big guy.

Kagome shook her head at them.

  


"Native American, I believe." Kagome replied seriously. "Lets see if I can remember this all...

  


"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your life's longings.

  


It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

  


It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have been shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, with out moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. 

  


I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstacy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

  


It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bare the accusations of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful, and therefore be trustworthy.

  


I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday, and if you can source your life from God's presence. I want to know if you can live with the failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and do what needs to be done for the children. 

  


It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. 

  


It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside, when all else falls away.

  


I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."

  


( I only had to look twice! I remembered it all!!) 

  


Kagome had a far away look in her eyes when the last words of the poem were still ringing in the ears of her audience. She came back to herself suddenly. "No good?"

  


"No! No! It was good," they took turns reassuring her.

  


"Can I ask why that is your favorite poem?" Kurama asked her, looking into that same distance that she had been staring into moments before.

  


"Um...I suppose because every time I hear it, a part of it takes on a deeper meaning. There are pieces there I haven't even come close to understanding, but it's about life...and I want to experience it all! With each experience in my life, I come to closer to understanding who I really am."

  


"I thought you were Kagome," Yusuke joked, trying to lighten the thoughtful mood.

  


"Yes," she agreed, "But is that all?"

  


The warning bell rang, breaking the silence. "Time to go!" Boton grabbed Kagome's hand and pulled her up. "You'll get the best marks with a poem like that."

  


"I doubt it. Maybe I should use something less intense."

  


"No." Kurama said softly. "It meant something to you. Use it." He left them abruptly. He was thinking hard about her words. _The company I keep in the empty moments..._

  


_That would be us, _Youko announced.__

  


_Baka, he knows that._

  


_So what's to think about? _

  


Shuuichi let off a feeling of mild disgust. _Have you ever thought about whether you like who you are, Youko?_

  


_I..._

  


_That's what I thought._

  


Youko waited for his opportunity.

  


_Ouch!_

  


The fox grinned. Kurama sighed and rubbed his temples. _What sustains me form the inside when all else falls away..._This heavy thinking would have to wait. He had class to return to.

  


The others all went to their classrooms and finished out their day. Kagome saw Kurama in her mythology class but found him distant and distracted. She began to wonder if he was feeling well.

  


When the last bell rang, Kagome looked up to find him prepared to grab her before she could run out the door like she had the week before. She gave him a strange look and tossed her things into her bag.

  


"Will Inuyasha be waiting for you?"

  


"No. I have three days...ah, two more now."

  


He walked by her side through the still crowded halls. He found himself moving closer to her and starring down any who dared look their way. He had to forcibly stop himself and move away. Now, more then ever, he was reminded that he had no right to burden himself on her. It didn't stop him from wanting to be closer to her. But those last few lines of her poem had sunk deep.

  


"You're going to be graduating in a few months," Kagome suddenly spoke. "Do you know what you are going to do then?"

  


His green eyes flicked her way and rested on the delicate features of her face. Her warm eyes smiled into his impassive ones. "I don't know. I used to think about being a doctor, or going back to the Makia. Two vastly different options and I find myself torn."

  


"Not both?"

  


"A doctor in the Makia? I highly doubt that's likely."

  


"I would think that is where a healer is most needed," she thought aloud.

  


"And most often taken advantage of."

  


"You have to _allow_ that to happen."

  


"..." the silence grew bold._ If you dare to dream about meeting your life's longings..._

  


"They would never allow it."

  


"Who? What?" she asked, confused now.

  


"The Rekai, mostly...Youko Kurama would not be welcome as a healer."

  


She looked at him from under her long dark lashes. "Part of that long story?"

  


"Yes."

  


"Mmmm...."she let it drop.

  


He was thankful. 

  


Boton joined them to escort Kagome home.

  


_***************************************************************************************************_

  


The next two days went by in a blur for Kagome. She was walking back to her families shrine to meet Inuyasha when the hanyou decided to hurry her up by looking for her.

  


Kagome was walking back with Shuuichi and Boton when Inuyasha abruptly landed in front of them. His ears were covered in a bright blue hat that clashed horribly with his red clothing. 

  


As soon as he appeared, Boton looked nervous and embarrassed. She fidgeted with her own clothes and smoothed her hair. She saw Kurama watching her intently. She glared at him. He said nothing.

  


Inuyasha, was curiously silent as well. He was angry and relieved to see Kagome being watched out for. He knew he couldn't be with her _all_ the time but relying on these stranger made him feel inadequate. He drew himself up in an attempt to tour over the other boy, but the kitsune was just as tall as he. And the calm green eyes made him feel coarse and uncontrolled, just like Sesshoumaru made him feel. 

  


This fox was no better then he! He glared spitefully at the expressionless face of his adversary. 

The emerald eyes watched him calmly for a second and then dismissed him. He felt his blood boil, and placed a searching hand on the sword hilt he forgot wasn't there. He scowled. Kagome's mother wouldn't let him run the streets with his sword, so had offered to hold it for him.

  


He wanted nothing more then to show Kagome how weak this Youkai really was. His rage built in the silence as an oblivious Kagome skipped ahead.

  


Boton cleared her throat loudly. Inuyasha hadn't even spared her a glance! Her temper was running at hot as his and she let him know it as she stomped past him and Kurama. She brought her foot down sharply on the dog demon's bare toes. "So sorry," she snarled. "Must not have _seen _you there!"

  


He grabbed his foot with a yowl and turned his complete attention to the blue haired girl rushing to catch up with Kagome. "Woman!" he bellowed.

  


"Boton," she answered back. "Bo-ton, understand me?"

  


It sounded so like Kagome on their first meeting Inuyasha stared at her back in surprise. A flash of red mad him look to the side. The Kitsune calmly walked by him without looking at him once. Inuyasha growled low in his throat. This arrangement was not going to work out. He stalked along behind them until he caught up at the shrine stairs. 

  


"I'll be back in a week and a half," Kagome was saying. "And thank you so much for your help. Tell the others bye for me?" she smiled and began to climb the stairs.

  


"Keh! We may be back and we may not," Inuyasha glowered. Kagome rolled her eyes at him.

  


"We'll be back," she said confidently.

  


"Be careful... " Kurama said softly. "And tell Shippo thank you for the gift."

  


"Take care," Boton added in farewell. 

  


"I'll take care of her. I always do," Inuyasha snorted. "Stupid girl, doesn't always know which way is up."

  


"I heard that," Kagome's voice was soft and dangerous.

  


"I-"

  


"Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


"Grrrrrr..."

  


"Serves you right," Boton muttered.

  


"Wait!" Kurama climbed the stairs and took one of Kagome's hands in his.

  


"Hey!" Inuyasha half sat up.

  


"Sit."

  


Wham!

  


Kagome looked at her new friend in confusion. She felt him press something small and round into her hand before curling her fingers over it. "For your Shippo." He backed away and stared into her eyes for a long moment. Then, he turned to leave. Boton hurried to catch up to the fox spirit.

  


Kagome watched them go, her fingers closed over the small, hard bead. She opened her hand and was surprised to see...a seed.

  


"Ka-Go_ Meeee!" Inuyasha hissed.

  


"Baka." She rolled her eyes at him again, before running up the stairs, leaving him to fend off the last of the subduing spell alone.

  
  
  
  



	17. Silver

Silver

  
  


"You can't be serious," Shippo whispered, looking into Kagome's hand. He made no move to take the seed.

  


"It's just a stupid seed," Inuyasha complained. "What ever you gave him took a week to make."

  


"Kagome, you didn't tell me that this other fox was a silver," he continued in a soft, awe stuck voice.

  


"A silver?" she looked at the cub balanced on her shoulder.

  


"Are you sure, Shippo?" Sango asked the kit.

  


He nodded, reaching out one small paw to touch the little gift, and decided against it at the last minute. "I'm sure."

  


"What's so special about that damn seed?" Inuyasha grumbled.

  


"Well, the seed itself would be normal enough if it weren't from a silver." Sango looked impressed. 

  


"What do you mean by silver?" Kagome asked.

  


"A silver fox," Shippo said in his strangely hushed voice. "Silver's are very rare...very, very rare." He shivered delightfully.

  


"You've seen fox magic, Kagome. It is mostly illusion. But with silvers, the magic is real. They also hold a very deep bond with nature. Growing things are special to them, hense ethe seed," Sango tried to explain. "And they have great power, like the noble youkai."

  


"Feh! There's nothing noble about that demon." Shippo bristled and gave Inuyasha a look of hatred. "It's just a stupid seed. It probably won't even grow." Inuyasha stomped away.

  


"Shippo, why don't you take it?" Kagome shifted nervously. He ducked his head under her neck.

  


"I don't want to ruin it."

  


"Shippo?"

  


"I gave him a token, a welcome to show that he is a friend to my tribe...my family. I didn't have any crests left from before," he said sadly, "so I made one." He moved into Kagome's arms and cuddled against her. "I'm the only one left from our line, so I used a simple symbol on one side of my old family crest, and a new one on the other for my new family." 

  


Kagaome gathered him closer. He sighed content to hold tight to his mother figure.

  


"Shippo, he gave this to you. It isn't going to ruin if you touch it."

  


"I don't want it to grow yet," he answered.

  


"What do you mean?"

  


"If I touch it, then my fox energy will trigger it to grow, just as his energy would show him the truth of the crest I gave him."

  


"Oh," Kagome looked at the seed. "How do you know he's a silver?"

  


"Well, he'd have silver fur and hair...more tails...yellow eyes like most of the old family youkai nobility...."

  


"But Shippo, Shuuichi has red hair and green eyes. And I don't recall any tails..."

  


"But he has to be. I know he does." Shippo looked longingly into Kagome's hand.

  


Kagome closed her fingers over Shippo's gift and sifted the fingers of her other hand through the soft hair on his head. "I'll take care of it for you, then. Let me know when you want it." She carefully wrapped the object into a small square of cloth and stowed it in her large pack.

  


"Thank him for me, will you Kagome?" he asked.

  


"Yes, Shippo, no problem," she grinned. "Well, let's get going. We won't find anything here."

  


Sango and Miroku fell into step beside her as she headed in the same direction as Inuyasha. They would have to collect the foul-tempered hanyou and make their way north, to find Naraku.

  


****************************************************************************************************

  


"Where is she now?" Boton asked Koenma. She watched the screen focus on the girl she called a friend.

  


"Somewhere north..."he answered distracted.

  


Stamp

Stamp

  


"They're camping. Has anything happened since she left?"

  


"Not much. They killed three lesser demons, defeated a youkai noble who was after Kagome's shards, fought with that Naraku person's mobs, and met up with that wolf prince, Kouga."

  


"Not much?" she stared at Koenma pointedly.

  


"Not for them."

  


Stamp 

Stamp

  


"Hmmmm," she watched as Inuyasha appeared behind Kagome and began talking. "What is he saying?"

  


"Huh? Oh, I turned off the sound. They are on their way back, so nothing important is going to happen now." He stamped a few more files.

  


"So why are you still spying on her?"

  


Stamp

Stamp

STAMP!

  


"I'm _not _spying! I need to know when she's close by so I can send one of the team to meet her."

  


Stamp

  


"Oh?"

  


Stamp

STAMP!

  


"She said she would be back in a week and a half. She should be in tomorrow," she continued.

  


"I know."

  


Stamp

  


"Then why-"

  


STAMP!

  


"OUCH!" he held his swelling thumb in front of his face, pulled the pacifier out long enough to shove in the aching digit, and glared at lady death.

  


"Sorry," she said not meaning it one bit.

  


"That's why." he pointed at the screen.

  


Boton turned around and saw the members of Kagome's group scatter. A large bird with two? Yes, two heads attacked from above them. It circled and swooped only once more before Inuyasha took it out in one swipe with his claws.

  


"Wow," she watched the dog demon with feigned disinterest. "They're good."

  


"That would make four lesser demons."

  


"I saw."

  


"Shouldn't you be busy somewhere?"

  


Stamp 

Stamp

  


"Not really."

  


Stamp

  


"Don't make me give you something to do. You wouldn't like the jobs I've got in mind."

  


Stamp

  


Boton sighed and snaked a foot around the chair leg to drag it closer. She plopped into it and decided to enjoy the scenery. The pretty silver and gold unattainable scenery. She knew Kagome liked the half-demon, but she also knew that the other girl wasn't romantically interested anymore. Kagome had admitted that she felt strongly for her companion, but also that she knew it would never work. Kagome was too much of a reminder, a replacement for Kikyo. She could never be sure if he loved her or just the parts of Kikyo he remembered. That left Boton an opportunity, since she was neither a priestess, a reincarnation, or the walking dead. She determined to get his attention after his blatant move to ignore her last time. Boton watched the white ears swivel toward Kagome and rubbed her fingers on the silk of her kimono, remembering the texture. She smiled and stood to leave.

  


"Koenma, sir?"

  


The stamping paused.

  


"I'll go meet her tomorrow."

  


"Good, good," he agreed. "Take one of the others, too."

  


"I intend to," she kept her smile.

"Good."

  


She swept out the door, thinking of who would provide the biggest distraction to Kagome. Instantly, she knew what to do.

  


**************************************************************************************************

  


"Ah! Kagome must be coming back soon!"

  


"What makes you say that, Sota?"

  


"Those people are here again," he pointed out Boton and Shuuichi's figures by the well shed.

  


Mrs. Higurashi set her bag of groceries down and moved to greet the tall figures. She liked these new friends of Kagome's. She learned that Kagome was indeed on her way back and left to prepare dinner and a bath for her daughter. "You will stay for dinner, too, won't you?" she asked over her shoulder.

  


"You really should. Mama makes the best food!" a familiar voice called out from the gloomy recesses of the well. One pale arm emerged to grasp tightly to the worn wood, followed by a dark head. "Hi!" she said brightly. 

  
  
  



	18. Strength

  


Strength 

  
  


Boton and Kurama hurried to help her climb back into the present and relieved her of the giant pack.

  


"Thank you," she rubbed her shoulders awkwardly. "Mama's probably already preparing a ton of food. If you leave now, we'll never be able to eat it all! Please stay." she offered.

  


"Thank you," Boton answered. She looked around Kagome but no red clothed figure emerged behind her. Her disappointment was obvious.

  


Kagome's blue eyes widened when she realized what or who Boton was searching for. She frowned slightly, unsure how she felt about that. Then she shrugged it off. She might care for him, but they were not together. Nor did she believe that they would ever be. It didn't stop her from feeling slightly jealous.

  


Her blue eyes met green and the frown disappeared. She smiled at Kurama and winked good-naturedly. She pointed a finger up into the tree branches above them.

  


Kurama didn't let his confusion show on his face but instead sent his energy searching above them. Sure enough, a dark blip marred the natural energy around them.

  


"Hiei, you are welcome to come join us too," Kagome called out.

  


A distant "Hn." was heard. The scrape of feet on stone was the only indication that he had moved. Kagome was looking past Kurama's right shoulder.

  


"Hello!"

  


Hiei nodded his head and crossed his arms. It seems no matter what he did, she could still sense him.

  


Kurama held back his smile, but he could sense Hiei's frustration. The girl had made some sort of impact on all the members of the team in one way or another. She could bicker with Yusuke due to all her practice with Inuyasha. She made fast friends with Keiko, Boton and himself. Even Hiei seemed unable to truly deny her. Kuwabara was probably the least changed because every spare minute was spent with Yukina. But even he got along well with her.

  


They followed her inside and she excused herself to clean up. Kagome took a fast shower and ran back down the stairs clean and refreshed. She hadn't bothered to dry to her hair this time so it clung in wet strands to her neck and back. She looked ruffled and entirely too mature in the sleek blue jumper she had hastily pulled on. She joined them in the living room where they had already been provided with drinks.

  


Boton asked her about her adventures this time around, hoping to hear stories about the hanyou that had caught her attention. Kagome smiled wanly for a second. "Actually, we accomplished nothing. No new shards. No new leads. Nothing." She frowned at her fingers. "Something has to happen soon."

  


Boton knew that Kagome had seen and done plenty in this trip, but what Kagome was focused on so completely was the important issues of Naraku and the Jewel. Everything else seemed trivial to the girl.

  


"What will you so, then?" Hiei asked.

  


"Keep looking, I supose. There isn't much else we can do."

  


"Stay and look here," Kurama suddenly said.

  


"What?"

  


"There is a shard in the land of the dead. That would be spirit world. It seems practical that it would still be there."

  


"Look for it here?" she thought for a moment. "Inuyasha would not want to be left out. Could he go to this spirit world too?"

  


Boton beamed. "Of course! I control those portals when the guys need them," she announced. Boton's normally cheerful mood jumped five degrees higher. If she wasn't careful, she would find herself walking on air...literally. "Should I assemble the team?"

  


"Now? I need to attend a few days of class, at least!" Kagome said.

  


"Oh. Right...and I'll need to talk to Koenma to get all the right papers signed and all."

  


"And we have finals coming up." Kurama reminded her.

  


"Already!?" Kagome squeaked. She dropped her wet head into her hands and moaned. "I am so not ready for my literature test in two days much less finals. And I don't even what to think of math..."

  


Thy listened to Kagome's muffled words and thought about how hard it would be for her to catch up. "I can help with the literature class...."Boton patted her on the back.

  


Kagome lifted her head and turned worried but hopeful eyes to Boton. "Really? Oh, Boton...Thank you!"

  


"We'll all be happy to help you," Kurama smiled. "I help Yusuke all the time."

  


"When he shows up, you mean," Hiei said.

  


"Yes, well. You know Yusuke."

She looked so damn relieved and happy that Hiei felt left out. He folded his arms and looked out a convenient window. School...not an experience he had any intention of partaking in. There was nothing really that he could teach her. Unless..."You'll need to learn to defend yourself with something other then that bow you carry around," he heard himself say. "Long range fighting is useless here."

  


"What do you suggest, Hiei?" Kurama looked at him with one brow raised.

  


"I can teach you to use a sword." He continued ignoring Boton and Kurama's shocked expressions. Kagome just glowed.

  


"Thank you, all of you. I'm so glad to have you fro friends," she sounded dazed. "I've never had so many willing to help me before."

  


"Dinner!" Mrs. Higurashi called.

  


Kagome stood up with her ever present smile brightening. "Shall we?" she pulled Boton up with her and offered a hand to each bot. She guided them all back to the kitchen, where they had an excellent meal and a history lesson, courtesy of grandpa. 

  


When dinner was over, Kagome walked with her frineds to the shrine stairs. She made plans with Botn for the next evening, and hugged the spirit detective assistant quickly. Then she gave the boys a group hug and whispered "thank you" before running back to her home. She stopped and waved, then disappeared into the house.

  


Kurama looked at the shocked demon at his side. "Friendly, isn't she?"

  


"She-she hugged me!" Hiei said.

  


"I saw," Kurama chuckled lightly.

  


"Mou, Hiei. You act like you've never been hugged before." Boton shook her head at the fire demon whose face suddenly darkened. He leapt into the trees and vanished from sight.

  


Kurama watched him go sadly. "Boton, you are going to reverse all the good Kagome is doing for him, if you are not careful," he said.

  


"Huh? You mean Hiei has not-" she stopped.

  


"For a messenger from spirit world, you can be grieviously uninformed," he commented.

  


"Oh dear, I'll have to appologize when I see him again."

  


"Don't."

  


She thought about that. _Hiei would prefer I drop the subject...pretend it didn't happen..._She quickened her pace to match Kurama's long-legged stride. "So Kurama, what do you think of Kagome?" she asked innocently.

  


He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Boton," he said warning her.

  


"I know, I know. None of my business." She sighed and pulled out her floating oar. "Alright then. I can take a hint. See you tomorrow then, Kurama."

  


"Tomorrow," he agreed and continued home.

  


****************************************************************************************************

  


Kagome had changed and finished up some of the assignments for class the next day. Then, she couldn't stand it anymore. She stomped across the room to fling up her window.

  


The warm breeze flowed in and played with the hair that now flowed in soft waves down her back. She blinked into the dark and glared at the tree tops. "Hiei! I know you are still out here. What are you doing?" she yelled.

  


He appeared on the branch just outside her window. She folded her arms on the window sill and leaned out. "You are as bad as Inuyasha."

  


His red eyes glowed sternly at her from the tree. "First, I remind you of the demon exterminator, now, that idiot hanyou. Woman, explain yourself," he said sharply.

  


She blinked at him in surprise. "Oh, it's just the whole hanging out in tree tops thing. Inuyasha spends a lot of time them which is kinda strange, him being a dog demon and all."

  


"And the exterminator?" he prodded. "What did you mean then?"

  


She rested her chin on her folded arms and sank down to her knees. She shifted her weight until she was comfortably on the same level as Hiei before she answered. "You just have that same look. Like you have lost everything, that you could care less about yourself. As if you have put everything into helping someone else that will never know what you've given up. You look alone even when you are surrounded by friends. Sango used to be like that." 

  


He turned his face away from her. "Used to?"

  


Kagome suddenly grinned. "She got over those crazy ideas. She found that there is more to live for. And she can still love the brother that has forgotten her and keep true to herself too."

  


He looked at her again but stayed silent.

  


Kagome took this as a clue to continue. "The more you except from life, the more you have to give back to others . Sango learned that and is stronger now. She is still determined and focused on saving Kohaku. She just has more now, that's all." Kagome took a deep breath of the night air and looked at the stars peeking through the upper branches of the tree. "Actually I think she feels stronger about saving him because now she knows of all the good things there are still there for him to experience. She wants all those good things for him too. That's how she's grown stronger."

  


"Hn."

  


Kagome smiled. "Well, goodnight, Hiei. I have a feeling you wouldn't go home if I asked you to." She closed the window half way and thought better of it and pushed it back up. "You're welcome to come in and stay if you like."

  


Hiei stared back at the empty but open window and shrank back against the trunk of the tree. "I have no home," he mumbled to himself. The open window beckoned, but he turned his back to it and continued to keep guard, until the smoky fog of morning peeked on the horizon. As the dawn approached he gave one last, long look at the open window before leaving to check on his sister; the sister who would never know him.

  


He rapidly left behind the welcoming feel that Kagome had wrapped round him just by leaving the stupid window open. He cursed at himself and curled his hands into fists. _Would my resolve to keep my sister safe grow stronger if I could share the relationship I want to with her? If we could truly be family..._ He put such foolish thought aside and continued on.

  
  



	19. Confessions

Confessions

  


The first school day came and went quickly. Boton's friendly, but intense study time after school ended only when Kagome couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Kagome didn't complain, and instead was relieved to believe that she passed the literature test easily.

  


If only math were so easy to comprehend...

  


The next two days flew by just as easily as the first and now, it was time to leave her new friends again and join the ones in the past.

  


To her surprise when she walked out of her last class with Shuuichi, all the others were there to escort her home. She felt kinda funny with the large entourage surrounding her, but she enjoyed the company. Even Kuwabara trailed along with them, sacrificing his evening with his lady love. Kagome wanted to meet this girl who seemed so special to him.

  


"How one person could smile so much is beyond me," Yusuke teased her.

  


"How one person could be such a grump all the time-" she nudged Keiko in reply to his jab.

  


"I know," Yusuke answered deliberately changing her words to suit his purposes, "But no one has been able to get Hiei to lighten up. I think the world would end if he ever laughed."

  


Hiei growled.

  


"You would be wrong," Kurama said.

  


Hiei looked at him, remembering the time he had found the fox amusing enough to lose his composure. A small chuckle escaped him when he watched the tall red head blush himself, remembering as well.

  


"Don't pick on Hiei," Kagome suddenly said seriously. "I hate to see Keiko cry after he gets his revenge on you. He's stronger then you are."

  


"What!? Yusuke glared. "I'll have you know that I have always come out on top when battling that little-"

  


"Watch it, Yusuke. We could always start a rematch." Hiei warned. Kagome's belief in him was confusing.

  


"I don't doubt that you beat him before," she shrugged. "But you've already reached your potential. Hiei's strength is still growing. So is Shuuichi-er, Kurama's." She stopped and put her hands on her hips. She faced the passive fox spirit. "When I get back next week, I expect to hear your story," she informed him. "This whole two names thing is confusing when I don't know the reasons I'm doing it."

  


"Agreed," he answered softly. It was true that both demons had gotten stronger, but surpassing Yusuke was another matter. It was possible, but not probable. He couldn't help but feel proud that she noticed his strength. Youko preened in Youkai pride.

  


_Smart girl! _Youko said.

  


No one disagreed.

  


She reached the shrine steps and posed prettily in the sunshine. "In one week?"

  


A chorus of goodbyes and phrases of agreement chased her up the stairs. She smiled at the waiting Inuyasha who followed her inside to collect her things.

  


"You smell again," he greeted her.

  


She just rolled her eyes and ignored him. Now was not the time to approach him about staying and collecting that other shard. _When he's in a better mood_. She told herself, and resumed packing. _When we can't do anything more where we are..._

  


***************************************************************************************************

  


Koenma appeared suddenly at the shrine steps, surprising the spirit detective team. "Kagome!" he called. "Damn! I'm too late!" They felt the now familiar wave of energy from the well wash over them.

  


He held up the seer stone to show them. "It broke."

  


"What happened?" Boton asked.

  


"My dad. I finally told him about the well."

  


"What did he think you should have done?" she pressed.

  


"It wasn't the well, it was the stone that ticked him off. He seemed to think I was spying on her," he pouted. "Now I have no way to check up on her."

  


"Idiot. You _were _spying," Hiei stated.

  


"That's Lord Idiot to you, three eyes!" Koenma fumed.

  


"We'll just have to trust that Inuyasha can take care of her," Yusuke said unconcerned. "Just like he was doing before she met us."

  


"They haven't needed us yet..."Kuwabara agreed.

"But this is a critical time! Don't you get it yet?!" Koenma yelled.

  


"Get what?" Yusuke asked suspiciously.

  


"Oh, why did I ever think that this might work out?" he mourned. He vanished back into the Reikai with a thought, leaving them standing there.

  


"Well, I'm not sure if I'm pleased or worried," Boton considered. "I didn't really like that whole spying business, but it was nice to know we could help her if she needed it."

  


"Hn." Hiei disappeared as quickly as Koenma.

  


"Just where are you two going?" Keiko asked Yusuke and Kuwabara. 

  


"To Genkai's. I'll show her who's reached their potential!"

  


"Well, I'm coming too," she announced and followed them.

  


Boton and Kurama both seemed lost in thought. Unthinking, they fell into step beside each other and walked to the park nearby.

  


"Boton," Kurama suddenly said, "What do you think of Inuyasha?"

  


"He acts like Yusuke and suffers from Hiei's emotional constipation," was her prompt reply.

  


Kurama laughed lightly. "And?"

  


Boton blushed. "Uh, well, I thin Kagome's right. He does have a good heart."

  


"I agree. Despite appearances, he is the best person to help Kagome now."

  


"Yeah...I guess so." She dropped down into the grass and plucked at the petals of a clover. "Hey!" she looked a the boy leaning against the tree. "Didn't I ask you a similar question a few nights ago?"

  


"Yes."

  


"Well, are you going to answer it now?"

  


"I like her."

  


"Well duh. I already knew that," she snorted. "What insights do you have, Kurama? She's so blasted cheerful all the time."

  


"We could say the same of you," he responded. "We have all seen her life, and you know as much about her as I do...if not more."

  


"We didn't see how she felt about those things." Boton dropped her head down till her chin touched her chest. "I like her too. Everyone does, actually. That's what makes this so hard."

  


He sat next to her in the grass. "Makes what so hard?"

  


"Liking her."

  


"Liking her makes it hard to like her?" he tried to reason this out. From any angle it made little sense.

  


"No. Being her friend makes it hard to like _him._"

  


"Inuyasha?"

  


She nodded.

  


"I see. And Kagome likes Inuyasha."

  


She nodded again, miserably. "But..." she hesitated. "She kinda talked to me about him. And she doesn't really know how she feels. The only thing she seemed sure about was that even if he liked her back, it wouldn't work out between them."

  


Kurama said nothing.

  


"This is probably boring you..."

  


"No, I understand." He glanced down at her. "I do really like her."

  


Boton's eyes widened. "Oh! I see. So we're both is the same boat, so to speak."

  


"Mmmm," he agreed.

  


They sat is silence for a while, content to be miserably alone together.

  


***************************************************************************************************

  


"Kagome!" Shippo threw himself into her arms. "I missed you!"

  


"Shippo," she smiled into his russet hair. "Hello everyone! Sango! What are you doing?!"

  


Sango dropped her weapon and stood more comfortably. The giant boomerang was slung back over her back. "Sorry, Kagome. It's just I could sense a great ki but it didn't feel like you."

  


Kagome blinked owlishly at her friend. "Not like me? But Sango, I haven't changed." 

  


"I know. That is what was so strange."

  


"Feh! It's that residual energy from her _new_ friends." Inuyasha sneered. "Stinks..."

  


"Inuyasha, one more comment about my smell and I swear I'll say _it_ until you fall through the other side of the world."

  


Shippo eyed her warily. "Is that possible?"

  


"Feh!" but he moved a short distance away from her.

  


"I am more than willing to take the time to find out!" Kagome ground out.

  


"Lady Kagome," Miroku approached her. "It is good to see you again. And I don't mind your smell at all. It's a pleasure to be close to you."

  


"Not that close."

  


"Sorry," he put a hand to his stinging cheek.

  


"Shall we go then?" Sango ignored the monk.

  


"I suppose. We could just pick a direction...I have no feeling at all of any jewel shards."

  


"Maybe you're broken." Inuyasha said.

  


"What!?"

  


"You haven't sensed any Jewel Shards in months. There must be something wrong with you," he explained.

  


"I am not broken, Baka!" she shouted. "You think you can do better? Fine!" she stomped off.

  


"Hey! Where are you going?" Inuyasha yelled.

  


"This way."

  


"What's that way?" Sango asked.

  


"Not Inuyasha."

  


"Ahhh...." Miroku nodded in understanding. "Good choice, Lady Kagome."

  


Sango and Miroku looked at he pissed hanyou with matching smiles on their faces. "Let's go Kirara!" Sango coaxed. They willingly followed Kagome's stiff back, with Inuyasha trailing as far behind as he could without losing sight of them. __

  


_Feh! Why is it always my fault?_ He wondered. _Stupid girl..._

  


****************************************************************************************************

  
  


*Sounds of ecstatic cheering*

  


I have just finished typing from my first notebook! Now I have the next to begin! And I'm already writing in a third. 

  


For those of you who may have forgotten my warning...This is going to be a Looooooooooonngg story! 

  


I'll try to get more chapters up every few days until I catch up to what I have written out.

  


Thanks to all the reviewers! You really keep me motivated to keep typing! 

  


Sylvannastar


	20. The Stubborn

The Stubborn

  
  


Yusuke frantically patted all his pockets, trying to remember which one he had stashed the communicator in. "Alright! Alright! Hold on!" _Not there. Not there. Not-_

  


"Looking for this?" 

  


"Yusuke turned around the find Keiko holding his jacket in one hand and the ringing communicator in the other. He had forgotten she was holding his jacket for him while he was practicing his moves in Genkai's training ground.

  


"Do you have a new mission?"

  


"How am I supposed to know?" he snatched the contraption out of her hands and flipped it open. "What?" he asked shortly.

  


"What a way to greet someone," Koenma said. "Hello to you, too."

  


Yusuke felt his left eye twitch in frustration.

  


"What's wrong with you?"

  


"Nothing!" he snapped.

  


"Kagome said that Hiei and Kurama were stronger then him." Keiko said over his shoulder. His twitch grew stronger.

  


"And you're surprised?" Koenma ignored Yusuke's danger signals.

  


"That's it! I'm gonna spirit wave you all out of existence as soon as I see you!"

  


"Cool it, Yusuke. You can spirit-wave these guys." Koenma showed him a picture of two demons.

  


"Oh, they're cute!" Keiko commented.

  


Suddenly Yusuke felt the urge to spirit-wave the entire world. He growled at the picture on the communicator. "Why don't you send Hiei or Kurama if they are such bad-asses now?"

  


"Oh quit with the temper tantrum. Already! You are the leader of the spirit detective team. Act like it!" the toddler shouted.

  


"Keh!"

  


"You each have your own strengths. You're the only one with leadership material." Koenma tried placating the youth.

  


"Hmmph!" Yusuke said, but he was listening now. "You're right. They would all fall apart without me."

  


"Of course," Koenma nodded. "So you'll take the case?"

  


"Sure. Where are they?"

  


"Well, actually, they are looking for you." Koenma stared him in the eye.

  


"Huh? What for?"

  


"Seems you took out a relative of theirs sometime in the past three years." Koenma was fidgeting and trying not to get impatient, but a hot platter of food had just been delivered and was steaming pleasantly on his desk.

  


"Uh, huh. So what else is new?"

  


"They also have the ability to control small minded creatures." He nabbed a fried piece of something off the plate as he answered.

  


Yusuke decided not to ask what it was since it was most likely something he would never consider putting in his mouth. Like the gekki tongue in a red sauce he tried in spirit world once. No one could really explain what a gekki was.

  


"You mean like stupid people?"

  


"No-"

  


"He means like rats." Keiko said grabbing his shoulder.

  


"Rats?" he looked at her. "RATS!"

  


"Yes, like rats," Koenma nodded sagely.

  


"There's an army of rats!" Yusuke shouted. A moving, squeaking carpet was moving toward them. "Koenma! How did they get through Genkai's seals?"

  


"Well, they are just ordinary rats, Yusuke. Why would the seals work on them?"

  


"Eeee-" Keiko grabbed his hand. "Do something, Yusuke! They're getting closer."

  


"Eeeeaahhhh!" an high pitched scream came from the temple. Kuwabara suddenly barreled out of it, running from ...a rat. He stopped, stared, and ran back inside, deciding one rat was better then several thousand.

  


"Right," Yusuke said dryly. "Any ideas, O" Mighty One?"

  


"Get rid of the two controlling the hoard," Koenma offered, waved his pudgy fingers, and disappeared.

  


Yusuke pocketed the communicator, pulled Keiko to him and announced in disgust, "Stay close. This is gonna be messy."

  


************************************************************************************************

  


"Inuyasha, there aren't any Jewel Shards this way," Kagome insisted.

  


He snorted.

  


"Inuyasha!"

  


"Feh!"

  


"Uuurgh!" she stomped her foot. "Quit being so childish!"

  


The dog demon ignored her.

  


"Kagome, are you sure you packed my seed?" 

  


"Yes, Shippo. It's still there. Inuyasha!" She glowered at his back until she couldn't contain her temper anymore. "I'll say _it_ until you have to listen to me!" she warned.

  


"You wouldn't," he huffed.

  


"Try me."

  


"Bitch, see here, I'm the leader. There is something wrong with _you!_" he saw her face pale then go red.

  


"Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


"Bitch!"

  


"Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


"Damn you!"

  


"Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


"Stupid-"

  


"Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


Twitch....

  


"I don't want to go that way," she announced.

  


"Why not?" Miroku poked the fallen hanyou with his staff a few times.

  


"I just get a bad feeling..." she informed him.

  


"That," growled Inuyasha, pulling his face out of the dirt, "is probably a Jewel Shard you can't find anymore!"

  


"It is not!"

  


"Bitch!"

  


"Sit!"

  


Wham!

  


"That's it. You're useless! I'm going to find out what's over there. Stay here and rot for all I care!" The dog eared boy yelled back.

  


"I am not!"

  


"Feh! If Kikyo were here, we wouldn't be having all this trouble!" It was a low shot and he knew it. But it was also the only line he had that kept her semi-aware of the real dangers of this time. Besides, sitting him five times was pretty low, too. "Either stay here, or follow me," he gave her the ultimatum. 

  


That Kikyo line took all the fight out of her, as it usually did. Somehow it seemed wrong to speak ill of the dead...even if they were still walking around. And always coming up short when compared to a corpse was degrading. Unfortunately, it was also usually true.

  


Kikyo was a better shot with the bow. She was a trained Miko. She was a skilled healer. She fought alone and won numerous battles against many youkai. She kept the jewel safe from evil hands. She even died protecting it, losing her love, her life and her future for it. And then, she had it burned with her body to insure it stayed out of evil hands.

  


Kagome was none of these things. But she had worth, and she was getting better. Three years of constant fighting had her catching up to Kikyo in her abilities to fight and heal. She was still basically untrained, but there wasn't much call for Miko priestesses in Modern Japan. "I'm not useless..."

  


Only Shippo heard her, and he patted her cheek reassuringly. "It's okay, Kagome. Kikyo can do lots of things, but only you can love us."

  


She smiled sadly at the kit, then cuddled him closer. "Thanks, Shippo. That is what really matters in this world. You're so smart." She took measured steps, following the bitter dog demon as he continued his descent to the valley below them.

  


***************************************************************************************************

  


"Yusuke! Help! Eeew!" Keiko danced around him, stomping her feet to keep the rats away. She tried climbing onto his back.

  


"Keiko!" he protested.

  


"Get me out of here!" she demanded, still kicking at the squeaking mass.

  


"We're almost there," he assured her.

  


"Where?"

  


"Out of the barrier so I can face the demons."

  


"Well hurry up!"

  


"Fine." He boosted her into a tree and left her there, sprinting down the many steps.

  


"Yusuke!" Keiko yelled after him. "You can't leave me here!"

  


Yusuke winced. He knew he was gonna pay for that one later, but her hanging around his neck was slowing him down too much. And he didn't want her in the battle when the fight started.

  


He cracked his knuckles as he ran, waiting for the moment he would be able to take his frustrations out on the two demons. He reached the bottom of the stairs, ran out on the road, and yelled at the top of his lungs, "COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME, YOU BASTARDS!"

  


"We won't forgive you!" two little voices chorused together. 

  


"Yusuke blinked and looked around. "What the-"

  


"Down here, you Moron!" Yusuke looked down at his toes. Just like the picture that Koenma had shown him, the two demons stood there. Koenma had just failed to tell him that they were all of six inched tall.

  


He stiffened and felt his rage build again. "Koenma! I bet you thought this was supposed to be _funny!?_" He leaned down and snatched the two demon from the ground. One in each fist. Then, he started kicking rats just for the satisfaction of hearing something squeal in pain. "AAAaaaahhhhh!" he yelled. "I hate you! I hate you! Die! Die! Die!" 

  


Squeee!

  


Squeee!

  


Koenma sat at his desk, laughing till he choked on his food and George had to enlist the help of three other ogres to calm him down.

  


*******************************************************************************************************

  


"Houshi, do you feel that?" Sango asked.

  


"Yes."

  


"What is that?" Shippo pointed up.

  


"Youkai! Inuyasha! Above us!" Sango yelled.

  


Inuyasha took one look at the hoard, and fell into a defensive stance, Tetsuseiga drawn and gleaming in the light. "Kagome, where is their shard?"

  


"There is no shard here, Inuyasha." she repeated.

  


"I don't believe that! Look again!"

  


Kagome knew she hadn't missed it. There just wasn't one. She looked anyway, just to alleviate her worry that maybe he was right. Maybe there was something wrong with her... "There is nothing."

  


"No! You're wrong! They would n't attack for no reason. If you won't help, we'll have to do this the hard way." He snarled at her. "Sango, Miroku, bring them down one at a time!"

  


"But Inuyasha, there are too many!" Kagome protested.

  


"Shut up, wench! Unless you decide that you're gonna help now!"

  


"Inuyasha..." Kagome was fully intending to "sit" him until he lost consciousness later, for this one. Unfortunately, she never got her chance. She shot all of her arrows quickly, taking out the closest of the bird like beasts until she was left defensless.

  


With the amount of blood, gore and feathers spraying through the air, Kagome never saw the winged monster coming. It wasn't until the cruel press of talons into her shoulders and the heavy beat of wigs over her head appeared that she realized this was a good time to call for help.

  


"INUYASHA!"

  


"Ka-kagome! " He looked around frantically but all he could see was blood soaked feathers and the ugly bodies of the remaining youkai. "KAGOME?!"

  


************************************************************************************************


	21. Tired, Hungry and Irritated

  


Thank you reviewers! It was brought to my attention that I do not allow anonymous reviews. I apologize to anyone this may have bothered. Can someone tell me how to fix that? I'm technically challenged and I need someone to spell it out for me! 

  


Some side notes, I better include another disclaimer I am told...though I don't see why. The beginning stated clearly that I do not own any of the character or the original story lines from the manga or anime for either IY of YYH...but I don't want to get into trouble either. So in a rather backhanded way, that was my disclaimer again. I still do not own them.

  


I will have a few notes for reviews that had comments or questions at the end of this chapter...

  


And I also want to sheepishly explain that I am a horrendous writer when it comes to action, so I kinda skip over that and get straight to the results and efforts of the characters. I've been poking fun at some of the monsters that do show up because you have to admit some of it is so charmingly impossible that the aspect of horror is somehow transformed into something cute! Take Yusuke's spirit beast, puu, for example. Oooohhhh! Scary! He really consumed the world there, didn't he?!

  


Anyway, I have a request of my own. I have a Hiei/Kagome fic floating around in my mind right now that is begging to be let loose on the world. I will not start this new fic until this one is finished and I get over my writers block for the Sess/Kag one. But, I may be looking for a co-author that would be willing to write some angst and action with me. It will be just as long as this on if not even more complicated...sigh...I know. What am I thinking, right? I just need someone to reign me in when I get too off course and who can offer ideas about fight scenes and gory battles...etc...

  


Well, on with the story.

  


Tired, Hungry and Irritated

**********************

  


Sesshoumaru stood alone in the clearing when his brother's woman stumbled out of the dense undergrowth. He wasn't sure what had made him stop here. He knew her scent by now and had no business with the Miko, but she seemed to be alone. That in itself was an indication that something had happened that he did not yet know about. He could hear her crashing through the trees for a good five minutes before she actually appeared before him. She brushed the leaves and briars off and mumbled something about irresponsible hanyous.

  


He raised one delicate brow at her and waited for her to see him. _She should have sensed me before this. It has never taken her so long to notice my presence. _He came to the conclusion that something was seriously wrong with her. When she looked up, the scent of her fear was sudden and strong. _That's more like it. _ But just as quickly, it faded to be replaced by the spice of her anger. He let a small frown mar his features.

  


"What do you want now, Sesshoumaru?"

  


Her lack of respect was infuriating.

  


"We won't give you the sword, so don't bother making useless demands."

  


His eyes widened at the wenches audacity.

  


"Woman, this Sesshoumaru no longer has a need for-" he growled.

  


"Kagome," she interrupted and resumed brushing off her indecently short skirt. "My name is Kagome."

  


"What do I care what your name-"

  


"You want me to answer? Use my name. Are all dog demons so arrogant and rude?"

  


"You are the one that keeps interrupting."

  


"True..." she looked up at him with a smile. He almost flinched in surprise. "Sorry."

  


"Where is my brother?" He demanded. Somehow, she seemed to be able to ignore all his warning signals for her to accept his dominant status. Here was this human slip of a girl, staring him in the eye (or ignoring him), questioning him, and making demand of her own. Now, she seemed to think an off-hand apology was enough to smooth things over for herself.

  


"So he's your brother now, is he? Usually its whelp, half wit, bastard, idiot, ass-" 

  


"Girl!" he was shocked by her behavior. He knew she wasn't like other humans but this was outrageous behavior for a woman.

"What is it about this place that makes people disregard a person's name and replace it with so many other less favorable descriptors? Inuyasha calls me "girl," "woman," "bitch," "Stupid girl," she continued.

  


"Kagome," he replied, getting her point. 

  


She smiled brightly at him. "Now who's interrupting?"

  


He resisted the urge to grasp his head and rub his temples. "No wonder that idio- Inuyasha," he amended, "was always in such a foul mood," he muttered. He sighed and tried again. "Kagome, where is my brother?"

  


She stared at him for a long minute, searching his stoic face with her expressive blue-grey eyes. "I don't know," she confessed. "I'm lost."

  


He simply stared at her.

  


"We were attacked by a large number of flying youkai. They weren't hard to defeat, but there were so many of them, I was grabbed and carried off. By the time I purified the hell out of the stupid thing, I was no where near my friends. It dropped me out here," she waved a hand vaguely around. "That was two days ago. Now I'm hungry, tired, and very irritable." She sighed. "I'm sorry for taking my temper out on you."

  


He watched her rub her eyes and yawn. "You are in the western lands." He turned to walk away. His curiosity assuaged. 

  


"Wait!"

  


He stopped, but kept his back to the strange human. He wasn't sure how such an odd creature had survived in these perilous lands for so long. She was practically self destructive.

  


"What did you want Inuyasha for?"

  


"That is my business, woman."

  


"Kagome," she answered mutinously. He heard her sit suddenly in the tall grass. He wasn't sure what was compelling him....but....

  


"This Sesshoumaru will not wait."

  


"Huh?"

  


"Are you going to sit there or follow me?" he let the exasperation he felt at her color his tone.

  


"That depends on where you are going," she remained sprawled in the grass.

_Smart girl..._he thought. He turned back to face her and frowned when he couldn't see her. His eyes searched the clearing carefully, he knew that she was still there.

  


A pale arm emerged from a slight depression in the tall grass. "So, where are you going?"her voice questioned. He stalked over and glared down at the figure hidden among the tangle of wild flowers. Her arms were thrown over her head in abandon. She blinked her silvery blue eyes up into his expressionless gold ones.

  


"East."

  


"Oh."

  


They stared as each other for a minute. His expression was as unreadable as mud. Hers was easy to understand. She was tired, hungry and irritable...He resisted the urge to smile. If Rin hadn't changed him so, this girl would have been dead after the first insulting comment she had made. Now, he found some sort of perverse enjoyment in the company of others. 

  


He straightened up and turned away again. "I won't offer again."

  


"No, of course not. I'm surprised you offered in the first place," she mumbled but his sensitive ears easily picked up her words. "Might as well..." he heard her stand and stretch.

  


"Have you no fear?"

  


"Of you?" She sounded so surprised it really wounded his ego. He growled low in his throat.

"Of course I am. I'm not stupid. I just have bigger problems then getting involved with your family disputes."

  


He looked at her from the corner of one eye. She didn't smell like she was afraid. "Besides," she continued , "if you were going to hurt me, I'd already be dead." She said it so mater of factly, he wasn't sure how he felt about her opinion of him. They had better find his brother soon...she was an annoying wench.

  


"Maybe Koenma was right...you have become kind." He heard her continue to herself. _Kind?! Koenma? She's clearly out of her mind. _

  


****************************************************************************************************

  


Inuyasha searched the forest desperately for three long days and nights. Shippo was so frantic to find his mother figure, he disregarded all his inner warnings and attacked any demonic being they came across, regardless of size or strength. Inuyasha had saved his tail so many times now, his grudging respect had grown. Now with Inuyasha still searching, he didn't know what to do.

  


"Shippo," Sango came up behind him. "We'll find her."

  


He didn't answer her. He didn't want to think about what it meant if they didn't. He couldn't consider that possibility. Suddenly the wind changed.

  


"Inuyasha is coming," he said monotone. They looked at him questioningly. "Kagome is not with him."

  


Miroku sighed and rubbed his sealed hand as he always did when deep in thought.

  


"Hey," Inuyasha arrived.

  


"Any sign?" Sango asked.

  


"No. Nothing...NOT A GOD DAMNED THING!" he suddenly shouted, throwing a punch at a near by tree. He didn't even look surprised as it crashed to the ground. He sat by its splintered remains and gazed at the makeshift camp site.

  


"Inuyasha," Miroku said hesitantly. "Kagome wouldn't know where we are, so...do you suppose she might have headed back to Kaede's?"

  


Inuyasha's head popped back up. It was an idea he hadn't yet considered, but it made perfect sense. He hadn't found her, or her remains, so maybe, she got away. Maybe she was even now waiting for them.

  


He stood on shaking legs and considered running off now to see...but he was so tired. He had no strength left to go rushing off again. He sat abruptly. "I'm sorry..." he turned his face away. "I-I have to rest. I have to sleep first." his voice was soft and full of regret.

  


"We can go ahead!" Shippo answered, full of new hope. "You're faster then us anyway. You'll catch up before we get there."

  


Inuyasha nodded tiredly. "Yeah, go ahead. I just need a few hours..." _Kagome-please be there...be okay._

  


****************************************************************************************************

  
  
  
  
  


Okay...for reviewers...

  
  


Thanks to Shinigami Clara, ixi, Flying Phoenix, Shinigami-chan, Artemis the Goddess, Dark Topaz, Kinky Usagi, DemonLady1, Maatakishi Hirata-san, hiei is mine forever, Kakrotta and the following as well...I means a lot to me to know that you are enjoying the story! It really helps to keep me working to write more and better.

  


Thanks!

  


To:

  


Katzztar- Inuyasha always acts and speaks before he thinks about the result...I wanted to keep him character as much as possible!

  


Diaphanous- Sorry about the confusion regarding chapter updates! I'll post a notice in the summary from now on!

  


Mellerz-I did notice that complexity in Kagome's character. It's one reason I like her! That is one reason why I did not want to portray her as just a bubbly teen with no real depth or life changing things happening in her life. Kagome is plagued with hardships and troubles of her own, as are all the characters. Even Boton gets her moments to reflect on her own troubles...even if I made them up!

  


"Helen" - I especially want to thank you for taking the time to tell me about you opinion of the story. That was some mighty praise...you see, I used to dislike crossovers too, but now I love them because of a few really good ones I happened to stumble across! But, I agree, you have to be careful with keeping the characters true. I'm trying...but I am also trying to be inventive at the same time!

  


Well, Thank you all again! Until the next block of writing is posted anyway!

  


Enjoy!

  


Sylvannastar (Forest of Stars)


	22. The News

The News

*********

  


"What are you doing now, fox?"

  


Kurama turned his attention to the dark form above him. "Morning, Hiei."

  


"She's not back yet."

  


"I see that." Kurama looked up the shrine steps. School was going to start soon and he needed to be going.

  


"I'll know when she's back."

  


Kurama looked at his short friend without any expression. It irked him to know that the fire demon was now the best informed of Kagome's whereabouts. Koenma was no longer able to give them prior warning to the well's activation.

  


He joined he others at the corner but didn't have to say anything. Her lack of presence said it all. The group was tense and silent until they reached the school, where the were joined by Kuwabara.

  


"She said a week." Kuwabara complained inanely.

  


"We know. She's late but it's only by four days. I'm sure she'll be back before we know it!" Boton tried to be cheerful. "We'd know if something happened to her, wouldn't we?" She looked hopefully at Hiei, but he refused to feed her false hope. "Well," she continued, undaunted. "Any number of things could have delayed her."

  


"Like what?" Keiko asked.

  


"Oh, you know, weather, navigational errors, car trouble..." she tried to joke.

  


"Killer bunnies..." Kuwabara scratched his head.

  


"Man eating plants..." Kurama clenched his hands into fists.

  


"Injuries..." Hiei supplied without humor.

  


"Death...What!? It happened to me." Yusuke shrugged in response to the outraged glares the others were sending him.

  


They stopped in front of the gates that led up to the school building. Kurama stared at the cracked sidewalk with unseeing eyes. _Was she okay?_ God, he hoped so. But his concern didn't explain the curious silence of his mind or the gut clenching pain that came and went in waves. _Kagome..._

  


"I think I will stay near by today," he told them.

  


"You're going to skip classes?" Keiko scanned his impassive face.

  


"Just a feeling..." he explained with out any change in expression.

  


"Good enough for me!" Yusuke cracked his knuckles. "Where do you want to go then?"

  


"Yusuke!" Keiko warned him. She hated it when he skipped classes. She glared and stomped into the building. He stood there in a classic pout.

  


"Since it's you, Kurama, you're probably right." Kuwabara said eyeing Hiei with distaste. "So you think something is gonna happen today?"

  


"Perhaps..."he clenched his fists and bore the strange tide of emotions churning inside of him is silence.

  


"Just a feeling, huh?" Hiei sniffed. "You are usually much more sure of yourself. What is the problem?" He gazed at Kurama with his focused red eyes. "I tell you again, she's not here yet. I"ll know."

  


Kurama ignored the taunt and turned back the way he had come. He wasn't surprised to notice the others fall into step beside him. Boton touched his arm lightly as he passed, a silent message of understanding and concern.

  


"So, we going to the shrine again?" Kuwabara kept up.

  


"Of course, idiot, where else do you think we'd hear any news?" Hiei said.

  


"Shut up!"

  


Yusuke was teaming up with Hiei in the verbal sparring match against Kuwabara. Kurama ignored the bickering and focused instead on his destination, even though he knew she was still gone.

  


_Kagome...what hold do you have on me that pushes past all my determination not to involve myself further? _As soon as his thoughts turned inward, he felt the touch of Youko in his mind.

  


_Stupid boy, _Youko whispered. _That is easy. I like the girl. Shuuichi likes the girl. That means that you like the girl. _He let that thought hang.

  


_Kagome deserves better. _Kurama said to himself.

  


_How can it get better than the combined affections of two-(or is it three?) heathy males_? Youko grumbled.

  


_She deserves someone whole..._He answered.

  


After a short pause of empty silence, Kurama believed the matter dropped. But then Youko returned, full force.

  


_No matter what you say, our attraction to her will not change, _Youko challenged softly.

  


_Yes, but it is our decision to act on such an urge, _Shuuichi supported, suddenly joining the battle of wills.

  


_I have every intention of following my "urges,"_ Youko answered. _Be warned. I'll not always be denied._

  


_Quit putting yourself first and think of the girl!_

  


_Oh, I am...I am. _Youko faded back into the background. 

  


"Damn it!" Kurama suddenly growled.

  


"Huh?" Boton startled.

  


"Hiei looked him over carefully and saw the last traces of yellow leaving the green eyes. "Hn..."

He leapt ahead and stood in his friends path. Kurama stopped. Hiei almost looked aggressive and violent. His stare was hard and direct.

  


"Later."

  


Hiei nodded and stepped out of the way. He had no doubt Kurama would tell him what the problem was. After all, he had been the one to start this whole "friend" thing. The others gave them strange looks, which were ignored.

  


Hiei suddenly felt a flare of power and closed his natural eyes. With the supernatural sight of his Jagon, he identified the energy. "The well portal has been activated." He heard the others stop moving and opened his eyes to stare directly into Kurama's green ones. "It's the half-dog. Kagome's energy is missing."

  


They all began to run, not doubting Hiei's words, but cringing inside about what it might mean.

  


**************************************************************************************************

  


After a short nap during which he was plaguing by evil dreams of Kagome and Kikyo, Inuyasha charged off to meet his friends.

  


_Kagome I'm sorry. I always promised to protect you...and now I've failed again. _His guilt caused a short shattering of tears to fall from his eyes. ..._be safe. Please, be there! _ He ran, passing the others less then two hours later, until he reached the village.

  


Inuyasha slammed into the familiar hut, sniffing determinedly. Kagome's scent was here, but it was stale, old. "Old woman!" he bellowed

  


Kaede rose onto her feet and dusted off the knees of her red Miko robes. "What can I do for ye, now, Inuyasha?" she asked calmly.

  


"Where is Kagome? She's been here, right? Did she go home? Tell me!"

  


The old woman's one good eye widened. "Ka-go-Inuyasha, have you lost the girl?!"

  


Her look of shock and concern drove him to face the fact that Kagome had not been here. That she might be-No, he refused to believe she was gone! There was one hope left.

  


Inuyasha forced his tired limbs to carry him to the old Bone Eaters well, ignoring Kaede's cry of dismay. _Maybe she went home..._Inuyasha paused at the rim of the well, idly picking splinters off with his claws as he stared into the darkness below. _If I go and she's not there, I will have to tell her family that-that I lost her. That I failed to protect her._ He didn't want to face her family, but, he had to know himself. He took a deep breath, this was his last hope, and jumped in.

  


The well house was silent and strangely daunting as he climbed out of the well five hundred years later. On suddenly slow feet, he shuffled apprehensively to the front door of Kagome's house. _Please be here! _He opened the door, not remembering to knock, and called out.

  


"Hello?"

  


A youthful face poked around the corner. "Inu-oni!" Sota smiled his usual hero-worshiping smile. "Where's Kagome?" he asked looking behind the dog demon for his sister.

  


Inuyasha felt the blood drain from his face at those innocent words. His heart stuttered to an irregular stop and then pounded painfully in his chest.

  


Sota watched this transformation as Inuyasha fell to his knees in the doorway. He felt suddenly ill. "Mama! Grandpa!" he yelled. The urgency in his voice brought the two adults running.

  


"Inuyasha!" Mrs. Higurashi exclaimed, "Why-"

  


The hanyou reluctantly lifted his face up and turned his sorrowful eyes to the older woman. He pleaded for forgiveness with a look, and winced, knowing he didn't deserve it. He felt another tear fall, when Kagome's mother finally understood what he couldn't say aloud.

***************************************************************************************************

  


The spirit detective team was at the bottom of the shrine steps when the first scream rang out. Hiei ran ahead, using his demon speed to appear at the entrance to the young girl's home. The second scream was louder and longer and choked by half formed sobs.

  


Kurama halted beside him, followed by Yusuke, Kuwabara and Boton. They all saw the white haired demon crouched in the doorway with his ears pinned flat to his head. He didn't even turn their way.

  


Kurama felt his heart fall to his feet. It suddenly became hard to breath. Youko took advantage of this lapse in Kurama's constant constraints to snarl in rage.

  


Boton stepped away from the suddenly menacing Kurama. He looked no different except for his eyes which had flared into an unnatural golden amber. She saw his entire being was focuses on the hanyou slumped in door frame.

  


"What have you done to her?" his voice came out deeper than normal and was full of anger. Inuyasha's ears pricked at the unfamiliar voice but he did not turn to face it. Mrs. Higurashi suddenly flung herself at the demon dog, unconsciously echoing the concerns of the fox spirit. "What has happened to her?" she sobbed. "Where is my daughter?"

  


"I-I don't know!" Inuyasha said. "We were separated...I had hoped she was here..."

  


"But you'll go back and look?" the woman pleaded. "You'll find her, right?"

  


Inuyasha nodded mutely. He untangled himself from her and stumbled out of the doorway. Flashing golden eyes, ripe with hatred, stared at him from a familiar face. He chocked back on a return snarl, knowing this was his fault. "I'll find her," he promised.

  


Hiei forced Kurama's head down to look into the glowing golden eyes. "This won't help her." He felt the smooth muscles tense in Kurama's arm. "Let him go. Let him find her." the fox sneered at the fire demon. "We can't and he can. Get control of yourself." A faint sparkle of green assured Hiei that Kurama was at least fighting his demon rage, even if every instinct he possessed told him to attack.

  


Hiei looked at the half demon. "Don't come back with out her," he warned. "You'll lose your life to this Youko, if I don't get to you first."

  


Inuyasha accepted this. These may be strangers to him, but they were friends to Kagome. He understood what that meant. It never took Kagome long to make friends, and they were always true friends to the girl. 

  


Boton plucked nervously at her sleeves, wanting to both comfort and berate the boy. She rubbed arms suddenly gone cold and tried to catch his eye. 

  


He shuffled past her with his head bowed and ears laid back. He was half way across the courtyard when the door to the well shed was flung open with a crash.

  
  
  
  



	23. Have Faith in Me

Have Faith in Me

**************

  


Kagome hugged the strangely clingy old woman one last time. "I'm fine!" she gasped. "Kaede, I have to go catch him!"

  


"Of course...sorry child." Kaede blinked her one good eye to clear the misty sheen of tears.

  


Kagome hurried away to the well, praying she could catch Inuyasha before he gave her mother a heart attack. She ran past the stoic Sesshoumaru, skidded to an undignified halt, turned around and threw her arms around the Tai-Inuyoukai's waist. He grunted in surprise but she was already releasing him before he could demand she let him go.

  


"Thank you, Sesshoumaru. I won't forget your kindness to me," she whispered. She left at a run and disappeared into the trees.

  


"What has you frowning so, my lord?" the old lady asked respectfully.

  


He put his indifferent mask back on. "This Sesshoumaru went to all that bother to bring that human to her village after being lost in the wild. As soon as we arrive she runs back into the forest after my idiot half-brother, when he is the one who lost her in the first place. I will never understand humans." The way he said it made her aware that he really had no desire to understand humans.

  


"Kagome is a bit different from the rest of us," the old miko smiled.

  


He blinked coldly at her and turned to leave. "She is no longer my problem. I will not help her find her way again if she is so determined to lose herself when she is just returned home."

  


"She is going home."

  


He regarded the quiet village and the old Miko with a steady eye and raised a questioning brow at the forest in the opposite direction "Indeed?" he eyed the woods stoically. "Rin, Jaken. Time to leave."

  


"Yes!" the little girl piped up from behind him. "Sesshoumaru-sama? Rin liked Kagome-chan. Will Rin see her again?"

  


"Most likely."

  


"Rin got a ribbon to say "Goodbye,"" she showed him the bright yellow strip of cloth tied in her hair. "Rin gave Kagome-chan flowers!" she giggled excitedly. "What did Sesshoumaru-sama get?"

  


The Inu Youkai refused to answer such a question and remained silent.

  


"A hug..." the old woman chuckled, answering for him.

  


"Oh..." the child nodded wisely. "Those are nice." she skipped ahead, her childish curiosity appeased.

  


_It was nice,_ he thought, and faded from view with his toad retainer and child companion.

  


"Good for you, Sesshoumaru-sama," the old miko whispered. "You have finally learned what your heart is for.

  


******************************************************************************************

  


Kagome ran to the well as fast as she could, ignoring the whip and pull of branches and briars. She fell twice, scraping elbows and knees and even felt the rough swelling on her right cheek from an untimed collision with a tree. The shallow cuts and scrapes were an annoyance, but her determination to keep her mother from torment caused her to disregard the pain and continue on.

  


She thought about the past few days with a smile. Sesshoumaru was really not that bad. And Rin was absolutely adorable! Jaken was the only one who ticked her off during her time with them. Sesshoumaru seemed in as much of a hurry to be rid of her as she had been to return to her friends. She had accused him of being afraid that others might find out just how nice he really was. The growl that had earned her was unrivaled in her mind. But, he still helped her when he did not have to.

  


She threw one leg over the well and hopped in. The familiar distortion surrounded her. When the well returned to her vision, complete with ladder, she scrambled up in time to hear Inuyasha tell her sobbing mother he would find her. She rushed up the short stairs, her earlier anger returning as string as her relief at being home. Damn that hanyou! If he had just listened to her once in a while!

  


She slammed the door open and screamed at the top of her lungs, "OSUWARI!"

  


**************************************************************************************************

  


Inuyasha fell through the pavement. A crack split in a jagged line up to the toe of Kurama's left shoe.

  


"Damn it, Woma-" Inuyasha pulled his face out of the concrete slab and stopped. The whole shrine had gone eerily silent with the exception of Kagome's rushed breathing. "Ka-Kagome?" he whispered in disbelief.

  


Her fury grew. _Had that idiot even looked for her?!?!_ "Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! OSUWARI!"

  


Kurama felt the crack travel under his foot and disappear behind him as it widened. He stared in awe at the picture she made of perfect outrage, fire and beauty. Even as banged up with wounds as she was..._Wounds? _His eyes still golden, narrowed. _Who had dared hurt her? _He felt his instincts to rampage an murder whoever might have been responsible for this taking over his mind. He at once relinquished control back to his mixed self. Golden eyes flashed once more before turning back into emerald. He did not want to be the person he was before.

  


"Kagome!" Sota ran past them all and hugged his sister around her bare legs. "You are okay!"

  


She put a gentle hand on his head but continued to glare at the crumpled dog demon. "How could you come back here and worry my family like that?!" she demanded when she saw his left ear twitch. "Are you so quick to write me off? Do you not think I can take care of myself for a few days?! Damn it, Inuyasha! This is not the first time we have been separated in a fight! Did you even bother to look for me before you came running here to tell my mother that I am gone?!"

  


Kagome's chest heaved in her determined anger. She was so focused on the hanyou's efforts to remove himself from the depression, she didn't even acknowledge anyone else's presence. This was fine with everyone since they had no desire to be on the receiving end of her wrath, as fun as it may be to watch. She waited until he was standing again, though wobbly, on his feet. He opened his mouth to answer her, which was just the moment she was waiting for.

  


"Osuwari."

  


The vindictive streak now spent, she turned a cheerful eye to the spirit detective team. Kuwabara ducked behind the others, his vision of Kagome and one of his older sister pmsing oddly overlapped.

  


"Sorry I'm late," she said brightly.

  


They gaped at her until Hiei started to chuckle. Then Kurama joined in. Yusuke nervously rubbed the back of his neck and gazed at the crater. 

  


Boton wanted to rush over to the hole to help the hanyou without appearing overly concerned. When Kagome winked at her and tossed her dark head in the half-demon's direction, Boton smiled. Kagome was giving her the chance she needed to get the demon dog's attention.

  


Kagome's mother wiped her teary eyes on a cloth clutched in her hand. She smiled blurrily at her daughter and composed herself. "I'll make tea..."she choked out, and stumbled back into the house.

  


Kagome turned a worried look at her mother. "Mama," she called, "I'm not so easy to get rid of. I'll always come home. I promise." Her mother nodded once and disappeared indoors.

  


Kagome sighed and marched up to the now recovered Inuyasha who was comically leaning on Boton's slight figure. He straightened slowly, pinning his mobile ears back. She hugged him softly. "I know you were worried." she said in a low voice. "And I know I am not Kikyo, but have _some_ faith in me?" she requested sadly. 

  


He nodded and wrapped his strong arms around her too. _If she could forgive so easily, he could do the same._ He took a deep breath to catch her familiar scent and suddenly pushed her away from him.

  


"Hey. Why do you smell like my bastard brother?!"

  
  



	24. Plans

Plans

******

  


"Hey. Why do you smell like my bastard brother!?"

  


"Ah, well, he kinda helped me..." Kagome said warily. 

  


"Sesshoumaru _helped_ you?"

  


"Yeah." She didn't elaborate.

  


Kurama found that he did not like it when she ignored him. He liked it less when she hugged the white haired hanyou. But he couldn't stand that some strange male had been close enough to leave such a strong mark of his scent on her skin. Once Inuyasha had commented on it, his foxes nose picked up the lingering scent of this other male. He felt like growling again.

  


Hiei stared at him knowingly. He forced his reactions aside and ignored the Koorime. Youko was getting possessive. This was not good.

  


"Come on inside," Kagome sighed. "All of you are welcome..."

  


_Welcome..._Hiei remembered that word. It was strange how fulfilling it could be to be welcome somewhere. He glanced up. Sure enough, her window remained half open. He smiled sadly. It was almost depressing when you realize what you have been missing in your life.

  


They trooped after her again and settled themselves into various chairs, cushions, and niches in the furniture. Boton slid into place next to the dog demon, who turned his amber eyes on her for a second and colored lightly. _That was hopefully a good sign..._she thought. She noticed that one ear remained cocked in her direction while the other twitched at the sounds in the room.

  


Kurama waited until Kagome chose a chair to sit at before crowding in behind her. As much as he wanted to fight it, he didn't feel like sharing her at the moment. She scooted over so he could perch on the wide arm of the chair. He accepted with a smile. _At least she likes my company, _he thought, green eyes softening. Hiei stood at the opposite wall, watching with amusement.

  


"So, what happened?" Yusuke, ever the blunt individual, asked.

  


Inuyasha quickly explained the first part of the attack and allowed Kagome to take over. He was surprised when she didn't make him out to be the biggest jerk to ever live, when he knew he deserved it. Kagome explained the rest of her adventure.

  


"You act like you don't know anything about it this time," Kagome said.

  


"That's because Koenma doesn't have the orb thingy anymore." Kuwabara nodded wisely. "It broke."

  


"Oh..."

  


"Oh! Koenma!" Boton stood up and vanished abruptly. 

  


Inuyasha yelped and stared at the cold place where the girl's leg had been pressed casually against his own. "Does she always leave like that?"

  


"Usually." Kurama spoke for the first time since Youko had calmed. His voice was soft and contained again. Inuyasha looked him over carefully, noting the close proximity to Kagome. He resisted the urge to bare his fangs at the red head.

  


"I think we should take a few days to recover before we go looking again," Kagome sighed. "I was gone longer than I had intended to be and now I have a lot of catching up to do." She rubbed her tired eyes. "And finals are in...two and a half weeks."

  


Inuyasha actually didn't argue. He was so tired himself, he'd welcome the break. "Stay as long as you need, Kagome. The shards will still be there in two weeks."

  


She looked at him in surprise.

  


"If anything happens, I'll come and get you." He looked at the red head swiftly, a dare in his amber gaze. "And I'll come and check on you."

  


"I'll visit as soon as I catch up on most of my school work,"she offered brightly. "When summer starts I can stay longer."

  


"How long you stay doesn't make a difference if Naraku stays hidden. We can't do any thing until that bastard shows himself," he growled in frustration.

  


A sudden flash and unearthly pop sent his hand to his sword hilt in record speed. Boton calmly settled into her former spot without a concern for her exit or entrance. Inuyasha glared at her.

  


"Don't do that!"

  


"Huh?" she blinked prettily up at him. He blushed again. _Definitely a good sign!_

  


Inuyasha flipped his ears back in annoyance. "Feh!" but the dark stain on his cheeks remained.

  


"What of that last shard? The one still in spirit world?" Yusuke brought up, "We still need to go after that."

  


"I'd like to try to do what I can to find the other shards in the past, first," Kagome sighed. "That last shard is inaccessible to Naraku, but the others we could still lose to him if we keep waiting."

  


"Hn." Hiei agreed. She gave him a half smile.

  


"I'll go back and hunt shards one last time before I will turn my attention to that one."

  


Inuyasha stood up. He felt crowded and tired. His nerves were frayed and his body exhausted. "I'll come see you tomorrow," he told the girl. "Will you be okay now?"

  


Kagome nodded. "Oh! Inuyasha, please don't attack your brother. He really did help me."

  


Inuyasha glared at her, unwilling to admit that he didn't think he had the energy to fend off Shippo at that moment. "That depends on him," he growled. "How did you get so beat up if he was so nice to you?" 

  


Kurama looked down at her bruised and scratched form. He'd been wondering the same thing.

  


"This? I did this to myself," she confessed.

  


Kurama looked at her in disbelief. He raised a hand to the welt on her cheek. She put a hand over his and turned a rosy shade of pink. "I ran into a tree," she admitted.

  


Hiei laughed out right, her glare not concerning him in the slightest.

  


"Was it a demon tree?" Kuwabara asked.

  


Kagome wished she could say that it was but her luck was bad enough as it is. "No. Just a regular tree. A big tree..."

  


Inuyasha closed his eyes and shook his head at her. "It's not the first time..." he muttered.

  


"So sorry I can't see in the dark like you can!" she grumbled back. "And this time I was just going to fast to stop. I was trying to keep you from giving my mother a heart attack," she reminded him.

  


"By throwing yourself at a tree?" Her mother asked from behind her. "That is kind of silly, dear. Hurting yourself in a rush to tell me that you are not hurt, seems illogical."

  


Mrs. Higurashi looked sweet and composed. Like her normal self except for the faint shadow of worry in her brown eyes. "I'm okay, mama. Really I am," Kagome assured her. She smiled grandly at her daughter. It was easy to see where Kagome got her resilience. 

  


"Keh!" Inuyasha stretched and left abruptly.

  


"Oh, dear!" her mother sighed.

  


"Don't worry, mama, he's always like that."

  


"Such a sensitive boy..." her mother nodded.

  


Kagome almost choked on her newly acquired cup of tea. Kurama used this as an excuse to rub her back. His hand stilled but remained after she regained her breath.

  


"Thanks..."she gasped.

  


He smiled down at her. Kagome saw her mother stare intently at Shuuichi/Kurama and nod her approval. Kagome had the sudden urge to crawl in a hole and hide. Her mother would now be pestering her nonstop about her new "suitor." _Kurama, you don't know what's in store for you now...When she gets an idea in her head..._ Kagome lamented in her mind. Before she knew it, her mother would be inviting his family over for dinner and tea to discuss how wonderful their children were. It had happened before. With Inuyasha, who had no parents alive, Mrs. Higurashi just enticed him to stay and visit with every chance she got...and she bribed him with food. Kagome moaned and dropped her head in her hands.

  


"Are you injured?"

  


She looked up into concerned green eyes.

  


"Other then a few scrapes and bruises, no."

  


He looked oddly disappointed...Kagome decided to let that pass for now. 

  


"Actually," she yawned delicately. "I'm just tired and hungry. Sesshoumaru keeps up a strong pace. I don't see how Rin takes it."

  


"The little girl?" Boton asked, remembering the visions of Kagome's memories.

  


"Yeah. Though in truth, I believe she ran circles around all of us..." Kagome chuckled.

  


"We had best let you rest." Kurama stood, "I'll be back to check on you as well."

  


"Don't hesitate to call on us," Yusuke reminded her.

  


Kagome nodded happily and waked them to the door. When they had all filed out, Kagome ran to comfort her family before falling into a mercifully deep sleep.

  
  
  



	25. Problems in the Present

Problems in the Present

*******************

  


Hiei stayed in the tree all that night, his concern for the girl evident in his actions. Her window remained half-open, just as she had left if weeks ago. Her breath was slow and deep, indicating that she was sleeping.

  


He settled against eh trunk of the broad tree and turned his thoughts to Yukina, where they always strayed. She had become his very reason for living. Just knowing that she may someday have need of him kept him strong, kept him from falling into despair.

  


With his Jagon, he sought out her energies. She was in much the same state as Kagome, in a dream plagued sleep. _What do you dream of? What things could haunt your mind? _He wondered. He almost wished that he could sink into the dark depths of sleep himself, but his own dreams were far from peasant. He'd rather just rest where he was, caught somewhere between the conscious and the unconscious. A place where he still had control and awareness, yet relaxed enough to rejuvenate his strength. Hiei hadn't truly slept in years...if you did not count those times he'd passed out from using all his energy to summon the dragon of darkness...which he didn't.

  


He suddenly found himself thinking of Kurama, and the sudden transformations in his friend that were happening with greater frequency. _That's right. That fox owes me some answers. _He looked at eh pattern of stars in the sky, to judge the time, forgetting they were different thent he ones in the Makai. _Well, if he's asleep, I'll just wake him up._ He disappeared from the branch as if he had never been there at all.

  


***********************************************************************************************

  


"This is so annoying," Koenma complained. "All these low level demons keep escaping into the human world. I don't understand how they're getting through the barrier."

  


"There must be a hole somewhere," George the ogre announced.

  


"I know that, stupid. But why can't we detect the damn thing?"

  


"Koenma-sir, your language!"

  


Koenma ignored the blue ogre. "This is the fifth case this week. And the demons are such small fry cases, I've only had to send one of Yusuke's team to clean up each one."

  


"So what is the big problem?" Boton asked from behind him. "If they are so weak, then why are you so worried?"

  


"Because there is a _hole_ in the _barrier!_" he yelled. 

  


Boton controlled her wince and watched the child ruler pace the room. He was severely agitated by these breakouts. More so then usual...As a matter of fact, he'd been more tense and jumpy then she had ever known him to be since...we;;, since they had met Kagome. He rarely left his office now and used Boton to send messages to the guys that he used to bring himself, just to "take a break". He had become so serious and closed off so quickly, he hadn't even found it necessary to tell her what was bothering him.

  


"You still don't _get_ it, do you? _None _of your seem to grasp how serious this situation is! Listen to me, Boton. There...Is...A..._HOLE_...In...The ...Barrier. A _HOLE_ between this world and the human world. A _HOLE _between the Demon World and the Human World. A Hole that seems to be getting _BIGGER_. Don't you see? The barrier between the worlds is _FAILING_!"

  


Boton gulped. Koenma was serious, and if he was right...She paled and hugged her arms close to herself. She didn't want to imagine the chaos and terror such an event would cause. She shuddered.

  


"But what could cause-"

  


"I don't know."

  


"The barrier has been in place for five hundred years!" she exclaimed. "Surely there must be some theory as to why it has weakened!"

  


Koenma sighed and slumped down once more at his desk. "I don't know..." He repeated. "I only have my suspicions..." 

  


"What!?" she demanded.

  


"..." Koenma refused to answer. He rubbed his temples with his childish fingers. He decided to change the subject. "So, how is everyone? How is the new girl?"

  


"Kagome?" Boton's surprise was comical. "New girl?" she questioned.

  


"Yes, well, once her responsibilities in the past are over, I fully expect her to take a place on the team. She is quite powerful, you know."

  


"Well, yes...but..."

  


"Yes?"

  


"I just..."

  


"Hm?"

  


"Have you even talked to Kagome about this?" she asked.

  


"Not yet," he sighed. "I was kinda hoping one of you could talk to her..."

  


Boton blinked owlishly at him. "Yes sir." She liked the idea of another girl on the team, since Keiko and Shizuru couldn't always come on missions. And she liked Kagome. "Do you think she'll want to?"

  


"I don't know." Koenma realized he had been saying that often and he was getting on his own nerves.

  


"Everyone seems fine. After yesterday's upset, we really were not surprised kagome skipped one more day of school. I think she was worried for her mother."

  


"Yes, well, let me know if there are anymore changes or developements."

  


Taking that as a dismissal, Boton left Koenma's office, hurrying to Kagome's to see her friend and her friend's dog...demon. 

  


******************************************************************************************************

  


Kurama was almost to the shrine house when Hiei dropped from no where. His angry look was normal so Kurama ignored it.

  


"Where were you last night?"

  


That made him smile. "Did you lose track of me, Hiei? That has never happened before."

  


"Quit playing games, Kurama. You owe me some answers."

  


"Koenma called me out. I was tracking a lower class demon."

  


Hiei waited patiently. He knew there was more then that. Kurama's energy had been completely missing.

  


"It escaped back into the Makia, and I followed."

  


"Hn."

  


"Yusuke said something about chasing down a demon the other day too." Kurama looked at his friend. "I have a feeling that you could tell a similar story."

  


Hiei didn't answer, so Kurama pushed on. "I wonder why there have been so many breakouts."

  


The fire demon seemed to be deep in thought, so Kurama left him alone. They walked silently to the shrine steps but hesitated to take their conversation up there.

  


"Kurama," Hiei said suddenly, "you lost control twice yesterday."

  


Kurama sighed. "Indeed. Youko's feeling have grown toward the girl. He's...taken a liking to her."

  


"Stubborn fox."

  


"Yes, well, at least he is content to leave _you_ alone, now," Kurama teased.

  


"You had to bring that up again, didn't you?" Hiei was blushing and it was pissing him off. "I don't want you to hurt her," he said abruptly.

  


"Neither do I ."

  


They looked at each other with a matching resentment. Kurama's eyes sparkled with small gold flecks. "She is not your sister."

  


"I know that," Hiei hissed out. "But she is still a friend," he admitted. Kurama looked startled, which brought the vivid green back abruptly. "If I could trust you, _all _of you, to treat her as well as she deserves, I would not feel compelled to give this warning. But since you obviously can not trust yourself, I will say this once, so listen. Do not harm her."

  


Hiei vanished as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving Kurama to climb the shrine stairs alone. "I would never harm her," he said to himself. "She is special to me. I could not harm her."

  


_I have no intentions of _harming_ the girl! _Youko snarled. Their opinion of him had seemed to have stung his pride.

  


_We know _your _intentions, _Shuuichi snickered.

  


_I doubt you would complain, human. You want her too._

  


_It's different! _Shuuichi exclaimed. _I like the girl! I want to know her, not-_

  


"Enough!" Kurama hissed between clenched teeth.

  


_No!_ The voices answered back together. That made him stop. That had never happened before. The two together _was_ him. There was no third soul. He was not a separate entity, but a combination of the two. So how had he just yelled at himself? 

  


Kurama sighed. Weren't things complicated enough as it is?

  
  
  
  



	26. The Jealous Fox

A/N and answers to reviews will be at the end of the last chapter I've posted this time!

Enjoy!

  


Sylvannastar

  


The Jealous Fox

*********************

  


"Kurama!" Kagome's sweet voice brought him to abrupt attention. "I'm glad you're here." The sincerity in her words pleased him.

  


"Kagome," he greeted her. They smiled at each other in pleasure at each others company.

  


"You don't mind helping me, do you? I mean, I'm sure you have so many more important things to do. I feel kinda like I'm taking advantage."

  


"I'm right where I like to be. I wouldn't have offered to help you had I not wished to do it," he assured her.

  


"Oh, thank you! I really need the help. I'm so far behind in math I'll never pass the exam this way." Her gratitude glowed from her silvery blue eyes, suddenly gone soft.

  


He wanted to see something else there as well. _What would it take to make her look at me the way she used to look at the Hanyou? Could she ever feel as close to me as she did to him? _He thought he caught a hint of affection behind the gratitude and felt his heart swell.

  


_You really can't fight it, can you? _Shuuichi asked.

  


_Why bother? We've all fallen for her, _Youko sighed.

  


_Fallen?! Youko, can you really want more then sex?!_

  


_Human, I warn you..._

  


"Kurama, are you okay?" Kagome passed her hand in front of his eyes twice before he reached up and caught it in his.

  


_We're great. We're just in lo-_

  


"I'm fine. Just distracted."

  


"Hn."

  


He laughed suddenly. "You sound like Hiei."

  


"Yeah. He rubs off on me, I guess. I mean with him being here every night, I guess it's just normal to assimilate things into my own habits."

  


_Every night? Hiei was-_The stab of jealousy was expected this time but no less potent in its ability to impart pain and aggravation. _Damn it, she's mine! I won't share her! _That was stupid. He was sharing her with himself as it was. And he knew that he had no right to try to claim her. He didn't even know how she felt.

  


He felt her tug her hand from his grasp and immediately missed her warmth.

  


_We got it bad..._

  


He wasn't sure which one said it. It didn't really matter in the end.

  


"Kagome, I-"

  


"Kagome!" a new voice interrupted.

  


She looked over her shoulder and suppressed a grimace. "Uh oh." she whispered, and pasted an overly bright smile on her face. "Hojo-kun! How are you?"

  


"I am well." the new boy grabbed her hands. "I heard about your illness and brought you these." He trust a package at her.

  


Kurama studied the boy intently. He was good looking in a very childish way. Not youko's type, nor Kagome's, he hoped. He noticed the boy still held her hands. He clenched his own hands into fists to keep from wringing the human's neck.

  


What was it about this girl that had him tied up in such knots? He eyed the boy in distaste. He'd been giving Youko more room to run then usual and now the fox was practically howling in rage. He wanted out. He wanted to maim, kill, destroy. He wanted to claim and conquer. And Kurama was tempted to let him.

  


"I heard you were transferred," the boy said. "I hope they are more understanding of your delicate nature."

  


"Ahh..."

  


"Well, if you need me to help you keep up on anything, let me know. I'll be here for you." the boy said brightly.

  


Kurama choked back a snarl when the boy patted her arm. His rage was excessive, and he knew it. Rage that she would let this unworthy creature touch her. Rage that she didn't recognize him as being the one to have that right.

  


Kagome was looking at him oddly. Suddenly he turned slightly panicked eyes at her and dug his sharper then normal nails into the palms of his hands. He was changing! Right in front of her, to his own horror, he was having trouble fighting the transformation.

  


She saw the golden eyes in Shuuichi's face glow briefly as they rested on her. He seemed taller, larger. She saw his stricken expression and motioned with a hand for him to take refuge in the well shed. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she obviously needed to get rid of Hojo quick.

  


The well house door slid shut with an urgent click and she turned back to the human boy in front of her. "Hojo, thank you, for the gifts, I mean. And for worrying about me. But I really-"

  


"It's okay! I wanted to give you those. You must still be tired, and since you have another visitor, I must be going. Bye Higurashi-san!" He whistled brightly and retreated down the steps. 

  


Kagome was left holding the package in numb hands trying to figure out how that had happened. "Oh!" She ran to the well house door and opened it enough to squeeze in. She let it slide shut again and faced the tense figure sitting on the well rim. The package dropped from her fingers as she ran down the short steps to stand in front of him.

  


"Kurama?" she hesitated a few feet away from him. She jumped when he lifted his head up to her slowly. His expression seemed torn between horror, pain and regret. She didn't hesitate to move closer and offer him what comfort she could, though his eyes remained that strange gold.

  


"Kurama?" she whispered.

  


"Yes," he looked away.

  


She placed one hand on either side of his face and gently applied enough pressure to make him look at her. Golden eyes met blue and held. She cupped his face in her delicate hands and searched his strange eyes for something. She smoothed her thumbs gently across his cheekbones and made him hold her stare.

  


"Kurama...are you okay? Can I help?" she whispered.

  


He didn't know what to say. The concern and worry in her voice halted his change, but did not reverse it. He was left with Shuuichi's hair and body and Youko's piercing eyes. Her warm hands against his skin was wrecking havoc with his heart beat. He trembled when he felt her innocent caress.

  


"Tell me how to help you," she pleaded.

  


He fought with himself. "Don't..." _Don't stop! _he wanted to say as he felt her soft fingers smooth over his face. "You shouldn't touch me!" he heard himself growl instead.

  


She made a move as if to pull back and his hands flew up to press against hers. He held her there even as he warned her away. His golden eyes blazed and flickered in the gloomy building, but it did not scare her. 

  


"Why?"

  


He swallowed and closed his eyes again. "Because it..." he opened his eyes and was caught again by her silvery blue stare. "It makes me want....I ...."

  


He seemed to be having trouble speaking so she leaned closer to his whisper soft words to hear better.

  


His breath caught in his throat. "I do things that I normally would not do..." he confessed, and loosened his grip on her gentle fingers. Before she could pull away, he turned his face and nuzzled the palm of her hand. He felt his body shiver again. He gave her a soft delicate lick to taste her skin.

  


His eyes glowed brilliantly in the gloom. Her startled gasp both pleased and chastised him for the spontaneous action. He seemed to come back to his senses. _Oh, God! What did I- _His horror filled eyes dilated.

  


"Kurama?" she whispered again. Instead of releasing her hold over him, as he expected her to do, she slid her palms up to frame his face. "Please, just tell me that you are okay," she pleaded. 

  


She frowned at him. _Here it comes..._He waited for her to yell, scream, leave, hate him, anything. He was prepared for everything, except for what she did next.

  


A single tear trailed down one pale cheek. In that moment, he hated himself, and Youko fully retreated. The fox seemed in pain from her reaction. He took a shuddering breath and wished he could find something to say that would save him, save them, but most of all, save her from him. He knew that he could never let her go.

  


She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly. "You're shaking!" her voice was still soft, but sounded scared now. "Tell me how to help you?" she demand. He felt another tear splash on his shoulder. She was crying for him, out of worry and concern, not fear or anger at him. He felt a tingle of hope run up his spine.

  


_She doesn't hate me? _Youko whispered. _When I saw her cry..._

  


_She will if you don't tell her that you are okay! _Shuuichi urged. _Don't lose her Kurama. Not now._

  


"Kagome, I'm okay. But I need to tell you something."

  


She loosened her hold on him and leaned back to study his face. His green eyes were normal. He felt his sorrow deepen at the intensity of her regard, but was gratified when she bestowed a happy if watery smile on him.

  


"You are okay," she repeated and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. He was surprised because that was all that seemed to matter to her. "Don't scare me like that! I thought something horrible was happening to you."

  


"No, not to me. But something may have happened to you," he confessed almost brokenly.

  


She turned puzzled eyes at him. "You would never hurt me," she answered with complete confidence. Her faith in him was humbling.

  


He opened his mouth to protest her quick judgement. "You don't know anything about me. There are things that I need to tell you. Things that you may not understand, or ever forgive me for. Kagome-"

  


Her fingers over his lips stopped him. Now she looked annoyed and angry. He felt his heart sink.

  


"Stop that. Right now, Kurama. I won't hear it. What ever horrible secret you think you harbor can not change who you are. You would never hurt me. I believe that...and you just proved it." She pulled her hand away and stood up. "It is my choice to believe in you," she continued. "I feel no evil in your soul. And everyone has shameful secrets, Kurama. Don't tell me yours unless you are ready to lay them aside as a part of you and not the whole. There is much more to people then the horrible things they like to believe define them. I won't hear it." 

  


He gaped at her, looking every bit the fool. Before he could think to reply, a blue flash of light swelled from the well announcing Inuyasha's timely arrival.

  


The red and white blur jumped up beside them so quickly, and with such force, Kagome forgot her tear stained face and how Inuyasha would over-react. 

  


"You Bastard!" Inuyasha took one look at Kagome and reared back.

  



	27. Nose to Nose

Nose to Nose

***********

  


Kurama was too surprised to do more then block the fist headed straight for his nose. But, the force sent him tumbling backwards into the dry bottom of the well.

  


Amazingly, he landed on his feet and looked up. Blue sky met his eyes. Shit. He had gone back in time. Kurama stomped on the dirt beneath his feet, uncertain what triggered the well to transfer him here, or how to go back. Nothing changed, so he jumped out of the well and into the untamed world of the past.

  


"Inuyasha? Did you forget some-" The man's voice stopped. "Who are you?"

  


Kurama observed the monk and his companions with a degree of humor obvious in his twinkling green eyes.

  


"A Fox!" a little voice said excitedly. "It's okay, Miroku. It's Kagome's fox. I recognize the smell!" the fox kit approached him in awe.

  


_Kagome's fox? _He really liked the idea of belonging to the girl but only if she also belonged to him.

  


"I can smell Kagome too," Shippo announced. "Is she coming back?"

  


"You must be Kurama." the woman next to the monk smiled prettily at him. "Kagome has told us about you."

  


"Did she?" he smiled back. "Yes, I am Kurama. You must be Sango, Miroku, and," he knelt down, "Shippo."

  


"You don't look like a silver."

  


"Shippo!" Miroku said aghast.

Kurama chuckled.

  


"Is it your human time?"

  


"SHIPPO!" the woman's tone was clearly horrified.

  


"No, it's okay," he laughed. "This is my human form."

  


Shippo pressed his nose against Kurama's in a purely animalistic greeting which he curiously accepted. The little kit was not shy. Shippo pulled back and ran around in a tight circle in joy. He got to meet another fox! And Kagome's scent on him was strong. That could only mean one thing...they had been _really_ close!

  


He smiled slyly at the boy now standing above him.

  


_Uh oh! _Youko, being a fox recognized that look as trouble.

  


"Kagome is my mother now," the kit announced. He seemed to be waiting for a response.

  


"I know. She speaks of you often."

  


Shippo's grin grew. _If this man knew I belong to Kagome, and still pursued her, then he must not mind me..._Shippo danced from one paw to the other. _So he must have accepted me too!_

  


Kurama caught the tiny kit as he threw himself into his arms. Shippo snuggled into is chest where he could inhale the mixed scents of Kagome and Kurama. The scents, so close together, created a loving picture of the couple in the kit's mind. But something was off...That special tug on his senses...He looked up into the passive green eyes.

  


"Hey, you haven't claimed her yet!" he urgently whispered.

  


Kurama almost dropped the cub to the ground. He was saved from answering when the well lit up again.

"Kurama!" it was Kagome's voice. "Are you here?" she sounded worried again.

  


"Yes," he replied looking over the rim. Inuyasha wasn't with her. 

  


"Thank God!" she began to climb the vines. She squeeked as they moved under her fingers, growing and twisting around her and lifting her gently up. Kagome gave the thick and strangly ladder shaped growth a strange look before taking Shuuichi's offered hand out.

  


"Uh, thanks."

  


"My Pleasure..."

  


Shippo leapt to Kagome's shoulder and began inspecting her for damage. "Kagome! We were so worried! Kaede told us last night, when we got here, that you were okay, but she said you were with Sesshoumaru!" He burried his face in her hair.

  


Kagome sighed and sat down in the tall grass, knowing that she would be spending the next hour or so comforting the child.

  


**************************************************************************************************************

  


Boton arrived at the shrine soon after her talk with Koenma. The blue flash of energy inside the well house caused her to smile brightly and skip over to the door. _That must be Inuyasha..._She pulled open the door and gasped. _Maybe not._

  


Inuyasha was lying face first in a slight depression growling in anger and general pissyness. It had obviously been Kagome that had used the well. She approached cautiously. "Inuyasha, are you okay?"

  


"Feh!"

  


"I guess that's a yes."

  


Inuyasha overcame the spell and sat up. "What do you care?"

  


She thought about lying and saying that she didn't, but couldn't force the words. "I just do." She knelt beside him and caught his eye. "What happened?"

  


He stared at her. "I pissed her off."

  


"I see that."

  


You're eyes are pink."

  


Said eyes crinkled into a smile.

  


Inuyasha blushed lightly. Something about this girl did that to him.

  


"I punched that fox boy,"he admitted, wanting her to turn away from him so he could stop staring. If it took her anger to accomplish this, then so be it.

  


She blinked in surprise but did not turn away. "Why?" _Did Kurama finally make a move on the Miko? "_Where is he now?"

  


stare

  


stare

  


"Uh, Inuyasha?"

  


"Huh? Oh...he made Kagome cry. He fell in the well."

  


Boton stared at him wide-eyed. "In the well?" 

  


"Don't worry 'bout him. Kagome went after him."

  


"I wasn't worried."

  


Silence settled around them comfortbly.

  


"Are _you_ going after them?"

  


"Feh! No. I'm not gonna run back and forth after them."

  


"Do you know why she was crying?"

  


"No."

  


She looked at him in disbelief. "She could have had tears on her face because of a stubbed toe for all you know. No wonder she 'sat' you."

  


He glared at her.

  


_Obviously not the right way to win him over..._"Sorry. I had no right to say that. You obviously care very deeply for her."

  


"She was my first friend," he admitted.

  


"Only a friend?"

  


He looked at her strangely. "Yeah. Why? Did she say something different?"

  


"No. I just wondered."

  


Inuyasha snorted and dug his claws into the dirt. "She reminds me of Kikyo..." Boton cringed. "But she's not much like her. As it is, I have made promices to them, but I don't think I could ever care for Kagome the way she needs. I can still see pieces of Kikyo in her and its...disurbing. And Kikyo is gone from me forever."

  


"So your kinda alone...like me."

  


Inuyasha looked into sad pink eyes in surprise. This pretty woman was alone, even among her friends. he understood that feeling. Alone in a crowd; not fitting in, no one understanding...

  


"Why are you alone?" he found himself asking.

  


"I'm Lady Death...who wants to be with a girl like me? People who know what I am generally shudder in revulsion when they see me. Besides, other then the other team members, I'm only around the dead or the ogre's who work for Koenma. Neither are really my type."

  


He gave her a semi-sad smile. "I see. No place to be...like me. So, what would I be to to you? I am none of those things."

  


"A friend of a friend." He nodded in understanding. "But I"d like to get to get the chance to know you myself...if you allow it."

  


"I'd like that," he answered seriously. He stood up and helped her stand. "I should go say hello to her family."

  


"Mmmm. I'll come with you!"

  


They left the well house together, deciding to wait inside for their friends to return.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"So tell me," Sango said, chin in hand, "how is it you were able to go through the well?"

  


"Do you carry Shikon Shards?" Miroku asked him. 

  


"Of course he doesn't!" Kagome answered for him.

  


"So how..." Sango trailed off.

  


"You have to have a strong connection to Kagome," Shippo answered. "I heard you explain to Kaede," he explained to Kagome.

  


The barrage of voices quieted suddenly as everyone looked at him. Kurama blinked nervous green eyes several times at them and ran his fingers through his red hair. He had no answer...unless his attraction to Kagome was also his link to her...which in any case, he couldn't admit.

  


"Mmmh, maybe it will all make sense later," Kagome said cheerfully. "We need to get back. I have a math exam coming." She pulled a face and shuddered. "Kurama has promised to help me catch up!" 

  


_At least they are spending time together. I wonder how I could get them moving faster?..._Shippo followed them to the well and thought hard about anything he could to push these two together. _Push...hmmm..._Suddenly, he had an idea. _If I just wait for the right moment..._

  


Kagome sat half in and half out of the well and hugged Shippo goodbye. She set him back down and swung her other leg over the rotting wood, preparing to jump. She made sure Kurama was ready to follow her when a russet ball of fur streaked toward him shouting "Bye, Kurama!" in an excited high voice. The hug around his knees was so fast and unexpected, Kurama felt himself falling for the second time that day. The kitsune cub leapt deftly away even as Kurama realized that there was nothing behind him to catch his fall, except-

  


"EEEE!" Kagome threw up her arms to help catch the boy in his stumble but promptly lost her own balance, grabbed the nearest support (the barely balance Kurama), and tipped into the well.

  


They were surrounded by blue light when Kurama rolled in mid air to keep from landing on the girl. He hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to do more then stun him. It was when Kagome landed on top of him, forcing the breath from his lungs that he remembered the sly smile on the kitsune cub's face. _He planned this out!_ Kurama tried to gasp for air but found that he couldn't. _Clever kit... _Shippo just didn't know how well his plan had worked.

  


Kagome's mouth was pressed firmly to Kurama's when she came to her senses. Her blue eyes opened to see green ones staring at her very, very closely. It took her a moment to realize that Kurama was turning an interesting color that almost matched his hair. _Oh, My God! _She colored to match him, but not for lack of air, when she realized what kind of contact they were having. She rolled away, embarrassed beyond anything she had ever experienced. _Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!_

  


Kagome snuck a peak at Kurama through splayed fingers and found him trying to laugh. It was apparently painful because he was gasping and holding his ribs at the same time. Kagome forgot her embarrassment and realized that she might have hurt him in the fall. "Oh god! Oh god!" _great, now she was chanting out loud. _"Kurama! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

  


He held out a weak hand and waved away her words. "I'm fine." his voice was barely above a whisper. He raised himself up on his elbows and tried to calm his rapid heart beat.

  


_What? No follow through?_

  


_Shut up, Youko._

  


_Oooo! Step in the right direction, human. I'm proud of you!_

  


_Shut up._

  


_Mmm! I wonder-_

  


_Shut. Up._

  


_Would she taste as-_

  


_Shut_

  


_-good as she felt?_

  


_Up._

  


_Or maybe-_

  


_ENOUGH!_

  


_Whatever. I know it isn't just me..._

  


_..._ Shuuichi couldn't lie without the fox being aware of it.__

  


_See, she likes us too!_

  


Kurama snapped back to attention when he felt Kagome slide a slim arm under his shoulders. She alternately pulled and tugged to help him sit up.

  


"I'm so sorry..." she suddenly seemed near tears again. "Is anything broken?" she ran a hand over his arms and ribs lightly. When she heard his quick intake of breath, she assumed she had found a tender place and let her fingers rest lightly on the spot. "Wait here! I'll get some ice and some help!" He grabbed her arm before she could run off.

  


"I'm fine. Really." To prove it, he stood up and turned a slow circle.

  


She looked him in the eye and scanned his face for truth. Satisfied, she smiled in relief and they stood together. "It has been quite a day, hasn't it?" She fidgeted before deciding it was time to move.

  


Kurama followed her up the ladder and chuckled. "It has been interesting."

  


"I'm not complaining, you understand. But I am getting the impression that this is just the start of a long string of events to come."

  


Kurama knew that he couldn't get away with Hiei's indifferent "Hn." so he asked instead, "How so?"

  


She pulled the shed door open and looked back at him. "Trouble seems to haunt my every step. And it seems as if you've been pulled along." her eyes took on an obviously good natured twinkle. "And it hasn't been this much fun in ages!" She winked at him and made her way around the permanent mark from Inuyasha's "sit" to her front door.

  


Kurama felt his lips twitch at the compliment and concealed the extent her words effected him. 

  


_See? I told you. Idiots..._Sigh..._She's a keeper!_

  


_You don't keep them. You use-_

  


_Watch it, human. When I choose to take a permanent mate, you best just hope that you can appreciate my choice. Since you are here and all..._

  


_Hey! It's _MY _body!_

  


_So?_

  


_....I don't want you using Kagome that way._

  


_I respect the girl more than that, fool. Can't you tell? She's no ordinary creature. I would not disrespect her that way...with her consent, however..._

  


_Now listen here!_

  


_Oh, shut up, Shuuichi. I can feel your desires as plainly as you feel mine._

  


Kurama suddenly wondered if he was going to start feeling jealous of himself too. He heard the mingled laughter of both Youko and Shuuichi in his head, as he followed Kagome inside.__

  
  



	28. Blundering About

Blundering About

***************

Inuyasha and Boton jumped guiltily apart when Kagome rounded the corner.. Even though they had been doing nothing but telling each other some of their more fantastic adventures, they both felt like they had been caught doing something wrong. She gave them a short stare for their guilty looks and decided she had no room to complain. She had just kissed Kurama....sort of.

  


Inuyasha watched Kagome blush suddenly and turned thoughtful eyes at the kitsune behind her. The fox was unreadable. It was no business of his anyway. As long as the guy wouldn't hold a grudge. "I shouldn't have swung at you," Inuyasha clearly announced out of nowhere.

  


Kagome almost landed on her face. For Inuyasha that was practically an apology. He didn't often give those. He'd rather be hated then be wrong.

  


Inuyasha was glad when the kitsune gave him a mild look and nodded, with out making a big deal out of it. He saw two pink eyes light up in approval with his peripheral vision. It was in utter contrast to Kagome's disbelief, which was rubbing his fur the wrong way.

  


Kurama noticed the ripples between the raven haired girl and the hanyou, but said nothing. He _wanted _the dog demon's attention elsewhere. Things were developing in ways he had not expected. He wasn't prepared to like her this much so fast. He had only known her for a few months. He had fully expected to be able to reign himself in and keep to him self, but it seemed that fate had other plans.

  


_Should I even bother fighting this feeling?_

  


For once, there was no answer.

  


Kagome gathered her school things together and smiled warmly at her friends. "Since it's so nice out, shall we take advantage of the weather and study outside?"

  


"Study?" Inuyasha's ears pricked.

  


"I have a math exam."

  


"You also?" he asked Boton and Kurama.

  


"Kurama is the smartest one on our team. He helps make sure the others at least try to keep up in school," Boton explained, shaking her head in a negative way to his question.

  


The words out of Boton's mouth made Inuyasha pause. _So she valued intelligence. Better not stick around then. All that stupid school stuff is useless to me._..Inuyasha got ready to leave, saying he'd be back the next day.

  


Boton felt him go when the well sent him home and bade her friends goodbye as well. She made her way to the park for some heavy thinking.

  


Kagome sat on the top step to the shrine and spread her things out around her. Kurama perched next to her, looking as calm and collected as when she first met him. He was watching Boton leave.

  


"She likes Inuyasha, doesn't she?"

  


Kurama's eyes became guarded. "What makes you say that?"

  


"I kinda get the feeling that she comes here to see him." She smiled a bit sadly.

  


The sadness tore at his heart. _She must still care for him..._

  


"I hope that he doesn't hurt her. He's so..."

  


"So?" he prompted.

  


"Stuck in the past...." she giggled a bit. "I mean his own personal past."

  


"Kikyo?"

  


"Yeah, Kikyo. He may never let her go."

  


"What of you?"

  


"Me?"

  


"Will he ever let you go?"

  


"He's not the one holding on," she sighed. "Well, lets get to work, ne?"

  


Kurama pulled the book to him and studied the equations. The puzzles presented in the book were so much simpler then the ones created by life itself. He watched Kagome concentrate on her problem with all her tenacity and decided he better do the same if his intentions were to help the girl. Yes, math had rules. The heart merely blundered along in the dark.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Inuyasha let his legs dangle gracelessly from the highest branch of his tree. So deep in thought, he didn't hear the impatient muttering of the fox child below him until Shippo floated up to glare at him cross-eyed in his balloon form.

  


"Inuyasha!"

  


"Go away, brat. I'm busy."

  


"Doing what?"

  


THUD

  


"Owww!" Shippo rubbed his head and his bruised tail. Inuyasha remained above him, looking out over the tree tops again. "Fine."

  


Inuyasha ignored the annoying ball of fur. His thoughts were on the past, and on the future. Kikyo, Kagome, Boton... 

  


A gentle smile settled on his lips. Kikyo wasn't always the cold and merciless creature she had become. Once there had been warmth there...long ago.

  


Kagome looked like Kikyo, but her personality was so different from anything Kikyo had ever been. Kagome was sunshine and summertime while Kikyo was the crystal smooth of winter.

  


Boton, this new girl in his thoughts, was a mixture of both. She had the determination and dedication of Kikyo as well as the lonely position of responsibility that shaped them both. But, she also possessed the warm and optimistic outlook as Kagome. She made him feel calm, like Kikyo did, and cheerful, like Kagome did.

  


_Women...I have better things to things to do then daydream about a girl!_

  


Inuyasha stretched himself out on the limb to nap. "I wonder what they are doing now."

  


Only the wind rustling the spring leaves answered him. It whispered of new events and cautioned him with a warning. There was choices to be made and the outcomes were bathed in shadow. He drifted back into a peaceful sleep, lost to dreams of the future. But, even those were tainted by the threat of Naraku. Even here, in his mind, that coward could find way to ruin his life, as he murdered the woman he loved in front of him, over and over again. But strangely, her face kept changing while her eyes remained a solemn sad pink. 

  


He whimpered and growled in his sleep. He could win! He could beat this monster! So close...he was so close he could smell him...

  


Inuyasha's amber eyes snapped open. He _could _smell Naraku! He sniffed the wind to judge the direction and distance but the scent was scattered and elusive. _He's moving...somewhere he's planning something..._Inuyasha was tense and full of hate, but Naraku's scent was residual, faint. It wasn't time to move yet. The bastard was still hiding.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Thank you again, for helping me. You make it seem so easy to understand. I would probably fail the test if you weren't here to tutor me." Kagome shut her math book.

  


"You are welcome." Kurama watched Kagome settle back beside him on the steps of the shrine. "If you were actually able to attend class, I doubt you would be behind at all. You are very smart, Kagome."

  


She smiled and laughed lightly. "I doubt it. I was never very good at math! But, thank you all the same. It's nice to hear that someone thinks I'm smart."

  


"Inuyasha?" he asked with a frown.

  


"Mmmm. If you disregard 'Bitch,' then his favorite name for me is 'Stupid Girl'."

  


"He treats you badly," Kurama said quietly, looking at the setting sun casting its violet shadows over the ancient shrine. They sat in the failing rays of the sun, content to share these quiet moments together.

  


"He treats me the same way he treats the others. I just take it badly because he means so much to me."

  


Kurama felt a strange melancholy mood sweep over him. He had never asked, but now that the opportunity was here, he hesitated. Did he really want to know the answer? He had to ask.

Every part of him was begging to know..."Do you love him?"

  


"Huh?" Kagome looked at him in surprise. "Inuyasha?"

  


Kurama kept his green eyes on the vivid colors of the sinking sun. He nodded with out meeting her eyes.

"I don't know. I used to think...I don't know." She sighed sadly. "What is love anyway, Kurama? Could you tell me? How do you know when you love someone?"

  


His green eyes met her serious blue ones. Their gazes held for a minute before he looked away. "I do not know. I have never really loved another before. Not that kind of love, anyway."

  


Kagome rested her back against his so that they were holding each other up. She turned her face to the side to watch the last bit of sun sink beneath the horizon. "I used to think that I loved Inuyasha. I would give my own life to keep him safe. Turn my back on everything that I have previously strived for just to see him smile. But..." 

  


His heart sank with each word.

  


"But lately," she continued, "I have come to realize that I would do that for any one of my friends...and even a few of my enemies. What I feel for Sango, for Miroku, Shippo, Inuyasha and even for Kikyo is equally strong...but each one is different. Do I love then all, but in separate ways? I know I do. But the kind of love you mean, that, I don't know..."

  


Kurama felt his heart lighten. She hadn't said a definite yes, so there was still hope for him to find a place in her heart. She leaned her head back to look up at him. She gave him a soft smile and brushed the hair out of his eyes. It took all the strength he had to keep from leaning into her touch.

  


"I would do the same for my friends here, too, Kurama." She looked him in the eyes, hoping he would understand. She couldn't say it plain yet, but she hoped he understood.

  


He nodded slowly, indicating he understood her. He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, and they sat silently until the stars began to appear above them.

  
  
  


******************************************************************************

  


For a note to readers...there really isn't much to say this time. Youko is up in the next set of chapters which should be debuting Saturday or so... (Evil Grin) A bit more action next time around, even if I am not good at writing it...ah...sorry it took so long to get these posted again!

  


I have one thing you should know. I have almost caught up with what I have written out and when I do catch up, updates will be slower...sigh...I do not what to rush my story so those of you expecting multiple chapter updates may find that I will have to give that up in the near future. I have at least eight more chapters to type out before that though. ^.^

  


Thank you for reviewing

  


Midnight Bloodred Rose, kira-renee 56, andrea10, ladyofthedragons1, sessywuver, Diaphanous, helen, Dark Topaz, melody 27, Flying Pheonix, Illustrious Sorrow, badgerwolf, Hinoke, Forsaken Silence, DemonLady1, Ai Higeki, Shinigami Clara and

  


Raquel- I just followed the directions under register at the top of the screen! I have no idea how things work beyond that!

  


Helen- What I really meant to say was 

"Inuyasha glared at her, unwilling to admit that he didn't think that he had the energy to fend off Shippo at that moment, much less his brother." Unfortunately, I missed typing that last little bit. It makes a big difference! Sorry! When I get the story completed, I intend to revise and all anyway so thank you for pointing that out!

  


Jumper Prime- "Shhhh! You'll give everything away! Please, just keep reading and all will be revealed!"

  


?????????-why choose one when you can have all three? ^ ^

Artemis the Goddess- thank you very much for the help with the reviews thing!

  


Kinki Usagi- I'm still alive! No worries! 

  


Thank you everyone!

  


Sylvannastar

  



	29. What Are You Doing Here?

  


Hey everyone. I'm not sure how it happened, but chapter 1 is actually chapter 22 while chapter 22 is still in the right place after 21! It's in there twice and I don't know how to get rid of it without reposting all the chapters from the beginning! For those of you readers that this has confused or annoyed, believe me when I tell you that it is nothing to the frustration I am feeling at my inability to figure out how to fix it with a simple solution! Forgive!

  


Hmm. Does anyone have a solution? One that doesn't include me finding all my files that are scattered on various disks and putting them in order to replace what is already there in the correct sequence? Help!

  


Sigh...If it can be lived with until the story is complete, I intended to revise and edit the story to my fullest ability then. Thanks for all the support I have received from everyone!

  


Sylvannastar

  


What Are You Doing Here?

***********************

  


The next few weeks flew by. They were calm and relaxed with just enough of a hint of danger to keep her on her toes.

  


School had just let out when she met Hiei and Yusuke at the gate. Kurama, leaving from the same class, was already at her side. 

  


"Hey guys!" Kuwabara yelled from across the yard. Boton stumbled along beside him.

  


"Where's Keiko?" Boton asked.

  


"Some sorta after school club thing..." Yusuke waved it away.

  


"So what are we gonna do today?" Kuwabara cracked his knuckles, making Kagome wince.

  


"You mean you are not going off to see that Yukina girl?" Kagome teased him.

  


"Humph! I just found out that you guys have been fighting demons everyday with out the great Kuwabara Kazuma! Why didn't you tell me?!"

  


"They're just lesser demons," Yusuke shrugged. "It usually only takes one of us, and even then it's not much of a fight."

  


"Everyday?" Kagome looked surprised. "I've only seen two..." she stopped. "Make that three." She tapped Hiei on the shoulder, since he was closest, and pointed to a filthy looking beggar shuffling down a cluttered alley. There was something wrong with the scene though. The man was stumbling along on three legs.

  


"Man, his spirit energy is so weak, I didn't even feel it," Kuwabara announced. "I bet even this girl could beat him."

  


'This girl' glared angrily at the orange haired oaf. She caught his eye and he coward and ducked behind Hiei of all people.

  


Hiei shoved him away with one arm, sending the idiot into a brick wall. "Baka," he said quietly.

  


The demon finally spotted them and tried to run away.

  


"Yusuke?" Kurama offered.

  


"Keh! Don't insult me!"

  


"It's not worth my time," Hiei crossed his arms when the fox looked his way.

  


Kuwabara was still twitching on the ground. Kurama sighed and pulled a seed from his long red hair. "Kagome, you should stay-"

  


Kagome wasn't there. In fact, she was marching up to the demon who was running slower then she was walking. The spirit detectives stood there, looking at her disbelief. "Hey!" she glared evilly down on the misshapen creature.

  


"Ahh!"

  


"Shut up," she aimed a kick at it. It tangled itself in the folds of the giant overcoat it was wearing as a disguise. The third leg was revealed to be a staff.

  


"Whaaa!" it croaked.

  


She looked at in disgust. "Jaken, what are you doing here?"

  


The creature's bug eyes bulged at the sound of it's name and stood up. "You!" the toad demon shouted. "But how..That's not...Grrrr!" he pointed his staff of heads at her and prepared to shoot at her.

  


Kagome crouched in front of the ancient Youkai, plucked the staff out of it's hands and calmly smacked him in the head with it. "I won't repeat myself again, Jaken. What are you doing here?" 

  


"Give it back!" he jumped uselessly at the staff held above the girl's head. "Damn it, human! First you take Sesshoumaru-sama, now my staff! I won't let you!"

  


"You know this demon?" Yusuke pointed a toe at the ugly thing.

  


"Unfortunately. It's Sesshoumaru's servant."

  


"Sesshoumaru-SAMA to you, human!" Jaken seethed. "And I'm not anymore, thanks to you, Bitch!"

  


Kurama growled and his eyes changed to a feral gold color. He trained his oddly hues eyes on the grey, green thing at his feet. It 'eeped' and hid behind the very woman it had insulted.

  


"Well, answer her question," Yusuke demanded.

  


"I don't work for you!" It shouted bravely.

  


"Hn."

  


He made another useless attempt to grab his weapon. "Give it to me!"

  


"Stupid demon," Kuwabara came over, holding his side. "Hey, shrimp! I'll get y-"

  


Hiei sent him into another wall.

  


"Hiei! Don't forget he's human!" Kagome admonished.

  


"How could I forget?"

  


Kurama held back a chuckle.

  


"Jaken..." Kagome got the demon's attention and handed the staff to Yusuke. "Here, burn this."

  


"Yeah."

  


"Awwk!"

  


"No?" she said sweetly. "Care to explain yourself then?"

  


"Human bitch!" it squealed. The aggravating sound was cut short by a firm hand around the neck. Jaken gasped at the familiar feel of being choked and looked into eyes as gold as Sesshoumaru-sama's. There was power there, power like his beloved master had. It was almost like being with his beloved leader again.

  


"Call her that again and I'll kill you slowly."

  


Kagome watched the demon nod hurriedly and drop to the ground. She viewed Kurama carefully. He still owed her an explanation for the ways his eyes kept changing like that. She put it to the side for now.

  


"Maybe we should take him to Koenma alive," Boton joined in.

  


"Why?" Yusuke grimaced at the creature. Lord, he was foul.

  


"He can answer some questions we have..." Boton fidgeted nervously. _Maybe he can tell us where the barrier is down and why..._" I really think that we should."

  


"If you are sure..." Yusuke tossed her the staff.

  


"Eeeww!," she took a closer look to the heads attached to it.

  


"Awwk! Be careful! That is priceless!"

  


"Uh-huh," Yusuke sniffed.

  


"I have to stay," Kagome suddenly announced. "I have to finish a literature assignment. Will one of you come back and tell me what's up?"

  


"Hn," Hiei agreed before Kurama could claim her time. The green eyes flashed yellow again and met Hiei's calm ruby gaze.

  


"Let's go then...here, Kuwabara, take this!" Boton shoved the gross object at the recovering giant. She opened the portal to the spirit world and ushered them in. "Bye Kagome!"

  


"Bye!" the girl answered as they vanished from sight. She ran home, thinking about the toads words. _Sesshoumaru was gone because of her? What was going to happen to him?_

  


_******************************************************************************_

  


Inuyasha paced back and forth at the edges of his forest. He was disturbed by recent events more then he would admit to anyone. _Well, anyone but Kagome. She never judges me..._Inuyasha sat on his haunches and splayed his front limbs out. Thinking about his friend turned his thought back to the blue haired Boton. _Kagome, how am I gonna tell you that I like someone else? What am I thinking? That's not important right now! Naraku, I know you're out there. Your stink is all over my forest. What are you planning now?_

  


He scratched behind one ear with a clawed hind foot in a very dog-like manner before resuming his pacing. _Should I go get Kagome? Should I tell her that Naraku is close? Is she safer in her own time? I'll wait a few more days. Maybe then I'll know..._

  


"Inuyasha," Sango called out, "we've been looking for you."

  


"Keh." he kept pacing.

  


Sango dropped from Kirara's back and stood somewhere in the middle of his trek. "You'll never guess who's here. He said he wants to talk."

  


"I know. I could smell him the moment he got here." Inuyasha made no move to stop so Sango was forced to step aside, out of his repetitive path. "I don't have time for him."

  


"I can't tell him that!"

  


"Feh!"

  


"Inuyasha, I'm sure he doesn't want to fight. He brought that servant and the child with him. And he helped Kagome that time. Shouldn't you at least see what he wants?"

  


"Feh!"

  


"Inuyasha!" Sango's voice rose in anger.

  


Suddenly Inuyasha grabbed Sango's head and twisted it to face the dim line of trees across from him. "See that? Can you feel that? He's in there...mocking me. I can smell him. Everyday I smell him. I hate him and he's just out of reach of my claws! I do not have time to deal with my fucking brother right now!" He released his grip but Sango remained motionless.

  


"Naraku's here?"

  


"..." he paced by her again.

  


"But I can't feel him...Neither has Miroku."

  


"He's still hiding. I can barely catch his smell."

  


"How long?"

  


"What?"

  


"How long has he been here?"

  


"About ten days that I'm sure of."

  


Sango swallowed and gripped her weapon tighter. "Kohaku...is here too?"

  


Inuyasha stopped and looked at her. "Probably. I haven't seen anyone yet, but..." he trailed off.

  


"Inuyasha," both Sango and the hanyou turned to look at he owner of the new voice.

  


"Sesshoumaru, what do you want? I'm busy," he growled at his brother. "I don't have time for your crap!"

  


The answering growl was one of impatience. "This Sesshoumaru needs nothing from you. I am here to inform you that I will joining the battle against Naraku." The silver-haired demon lord turned away. "Do not get in my way."

  


"What!? Bastard! Naraku is mine to kill!"

  


"We will all take him down," Sango corrected the irate hanyou. "We all have a debt to pay back to that monster. It will take _all_ of us."

  


"You speak true, human."

  


"Well, we don't want _your _help!" Inuyasha yelled in anger. "You would probably turn on us in the middle of the fight!"

  


Sesshoumaru's honor insulted, made the demon's eyes bleed red. He turned back to the hanyou. "I, Sesshoumaru, always keep my word. If you are too stupid to accept an alliance, then it is your own death that will result. If this is your choice then I will not force the issue. However, do not expect me to help when he is destroying you."

  


"Wait!" Sango cried. "Inuyasha may be too stubborn to put aside past offences between you, but we still need the help. Don't go."

  


"Sango!" Inuyasha spat. "We don't nee-"

  


"Yes we do! We need him and you know it! This has to end, Inuyasha! One way or another, it has to end soon!" She turned back to the once again impassive face of the demon lord. "Please stay. At least let us talk before you decide."

  


"Very well, human." He scented the air and gave Inuyasha a hard look. "Where is the Miko?"

  


"Keh! Why do you care?" Inuyasha growled.

  


"She was perhaps the best equipped to kill the coward. Have you lost her again, brother?" he calmly asked.

  


"Bastard! I didn't lose her to begin with. She was carried off."

  


"With the same result. It does not answer where she is now. Have you let her wander alone when the enemy is so close?"

  


"She is at her home," Sango answered him. "Kagome is safest at her own home, Sesshoumaru-sama.

  


He was curious about this home of hers that he could not detect with his fine tuned senses. The old woman hinted that it was in the forest Now this exterminator indicated she was safer alone in the woods then with her companions. Humans were illogical creatures.

  


"Inuyasha!"

  


"Now what?!" Inuyasha gritted out as Miroku jogged up to meet them.

  


"Oh, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Miroku looked amazed at the brothers. Neither was making a move to kill the other. How strange. "Forgive me," he bowed slightly. "I wish to offer you my thanks for helping Lady Kagome."

  


Sesshoumaru nodded in response. The monk had, after all, shown some respect.

  


"Inuyasha," he began again, "Kagome was here for a few minutes and wished for me to ask you to go visit her. She said she had some information to give you."

  


"Keh! Stupid girl..."he pouted. "She can wait. I'm busy."

  


Sesshoumaru was amazed at his brothers stupidity. The girl was their best weapon and was a person worthy of respect. In just the two days that she had traveled with him, he had recognized her strength and potential and came to respect the girl, though regrettably, she was human. She was not only the smartest one in this group, but also possessed the clearest head when it came to the enemy. He turned to face the monk. "Take me to the Miko. I will speak to her."

  


"Uh, I can't." Miroku looked ill.

  


"Take me to her home, human."

  


"You can't go to her home, Sesshoumaru-sama," Sango said. Somehow he pulled off an expressionless glare, where only his eyes revealed his anger. She gulped. "What I mean to say, is _we _can't go to her home, so we can not take _you _there."

  


"Feh! Only I can go see her," Inuyasha swaggered past his brother. "She can wait."

  


"Fool," Sesshoumaru said softly. "Show me," he demanded of the slayer.

  


Sango looked undecided. He was an enemy sometimes, and an Allie at others. What of now? How was she to choose?

  


"Uh, Sango?" Miroku felt he was missing something.

  


"Fine. Follow me," she said.

  


"What!? He can't get through!" Inuyasha barked a short laugh. "Go ahead and try!"

  


"Idiot," she hissed. "If only I had the power to 'sit' you!"

  


He glared at her, promising revenge.

  


Sesshoumaru followed her down a small path, away from the village and to a clearing empty except for the old dry well. She stopped and sat on the old wood.

  


He could faintly smell the girl but there was no other sign of her presence. "Human, where-"

  


"My name is Sango. And this," she patted the well, "is where Kagome lives."

  


His expression flickered to surprise for a moment. He walked over and glared into the empty depths of the abandoned well. "Explain."

  


"Kagome lives on the other side of the well. It is magic...I don't know how it works."

  


The demon lord stood looking into the well for a long time. "She will return from this place?"

  


"Yes. It is the only portal to her home. At least, it is the only one we know of."

  


"Then I shall wait here for her."

  


"But-" Sango felt a rush of air as he used his inhuman speed to disappear. She sighed. "Who knows when she'll come back through..."

  


The demon dog returned quickly with the little human girl, Rin, and the toad, Jaken. "Make camp here," the lord said and resumed staring at the well.

  


Jaken grumbled and complained but soon had a fire going and was entertaining the talkative little girl.

  


Sango sighed and decided she best stay too, in case Kagome did come back. She didn't want her friend to be scared to death by the oh, so pleasant greeting Sesshoumaru's sudden presence would give her. She just hoped Kirara or even Miroku would show up soon. He was giving her the creeps. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	30. The Silver Intruder

The Silver Intruder

***************

  


Even with as short and stooped as Jaken was, Koenma still had to look up at the demon. The green thing was shaking, knees knocking together painfully.

  


"Awwkk!" it squawked.

  


"Are you sure you traveled with Sesshoumaru? The Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshoumaru?"

  


"Of course!"

  


"Hmmm."

  


"Until that bit-" he cut himself off when a now familair growl reached his ears. He gurgled in fear instead.

  


Kurama watched the gross little creature with malice alive in Youko's golden eyes. Though he kept the transformation in check, his eyes easily revealed who was in control at the moment. He impatiently tossed back his red hair and held back the snarls of anger that were fighting to be let out.

  


Hiei had just left to update Kagome on what they had found out, which was nothing. Jaken didn't know how he got through the barrier, or where it even was. The only thing clear to the creature was that Kagome was the cause of all his miserable troubles. They couldn't get anything else from his foul mouth.

  


Hiei's willingness to spend his nights at Kagome's was tearing Kurama apart on the inside. He was acting entirely too possessive of his friend. It was disturbing even him, but he couldn't alter the way her felt.

  


Youko wouldn't explain why he was so pissed. The best he could come up with was a jumbled sting of illogical thoughts. _I haven't actually claimed the girl...and I don't really intend to. Do I?_

_She's with that other male. I don't like that because I _haven't_ claimed her_. _Someone else may take advantage of my lapse and steal her..._He snarled. _No. I don't want anyone else to have her! I can't let anyone else have her. I can't!_

  


Youko Kurama felt his powers growing and his body changing. Koenma stayed back and allowed the testy fox some room.

  


"Kurama!" Yusuke jumped up. "What are you doing?!"

  


"Hey, you're that fox guy again!" Kuwabara said.

  


Youko snarled again. The only thing in his mind was the ebony haired girl and her current availability. She was with another. It wasn't acceptable. He growled at the toad thing just for the pleasure of scenting its fear and disappeared from the room.

  


"Kurama! Wait! What-"

  


"Let him go, Yusuke. There is nothing that you can do right now. Kagome is the only one who can get him to come back to himself." Koenma stamped a few files distractedly. 

  


"Kagome?! What did she do to him?"

  


"The same thing Keiko does to you."

  


Yusuke scratched the back of his head. "Poor guy."

  


"What do you mean?" Kuwabara asked.

  


"She confuses him. Love isn't always as straight forward as you seem to think, Kuwabara."

  


"You know," Yusuke explained, "you love her, you hate her. You want to shake her till she understands you, hug her till you understand her..."

  


"Uh...no...." Kuwabara looked confused.

  


"Never mind. So what made him snap?" Yusuke asked.

  


"Hiei."

  


"Oh. OH! I get it. Hiei's with Kagome."

  


"So?" Kuwabara just didn't get it. Him and Yukina were oblivious to the rest of the world.

  


"That little whore!" and annoying voice suddenly spoke out. "First she takes my Sesshoumaru-sama, now that noble demon! Kill her! Kill her and save your friend!"

  


Koenma covered his ears until the screeching abated. "Jaken, I would be more careful about what I said about the girl. She happens to be well liked here."

  


"Awwkk!"

  


"Ogre, put his somewhere until we get this all worked out."

  


"Yes sir!"

  


A red ogre led the ancient toad away.

  


******************************************************************************

  


It was late, but her light was still on. Hiei stood composed, on the upper branches of the tree, outside Kagome's window. He jumped closer. There she was, sitting at her desk.

  


Hiei perched silently on the two inches of spare space allotted to him by the window sill, and slid the glass the rest of the way up. _Strange, she hasn't turned to look at me yet._ He silently slid into the room which was feminine without being girly. Kagome still hadn't moved.

  


He walked up beside her and crouched next to her stool to see under the dark curtain of hair. She was asleep. He smiled at the picture she made, propped up with her cheek in her hand. Her other hand held a pencil and was poised perfectly over a blank sheet of paper. He reached over to move her hair away from her face when he heard _a growl?_

  


Hiei's head snapped up and then, he relaxed. Kagome had growled in her sleep and was now mumbling incoherent phrases. Hiei reached out again, this time aiming to shake her shoulder. He realized his mistake when after one quick touch, her supporting arm slid forward. Her face met the desk top hard. Both hands now over her face, Kagome lifter watering eyes to Hiei's red ones. He stepped back, feeling a bit ashamed. He hadn't meant to wake her up quite that way.

  


Kagome glared at him through her tears of pain and prodded the cut on her lower lip with her tongue. She kept her hands over her face until she could assess the damage.

  


"Ouch," came her muffled reply to his look.

  


"Hn." This time, the sound wasn't as indifferent as he would have liked. It was more of a choked "Hhnnah?" He cleared his throat and took another step back.

  


"Hi," her small voice mumbled. "What did the toad say?"

  


"Hn. Nothing." Hiei returned to her side to inspect the damage for himself. A drop of a blood pooled on her lower lip. He pulled her hands away to wipe the wound with a gentle swipe of his thumb. "Weak ningen."

  


She smiled at him pathetically, causing the split on her lip to widen slightly and bleed more. "Ouch!" she sucked her lower lip between her teeth and nursed the wound. When she was finished, she addressed her questions to the fire apparition. "Jaken said nothing? That's hard to believe. All the times I've been around, he's never shut up."

  


"He said nothing of any importance," Hiei clarified.

  


"Now that, I can believe."

  


He chuckled and reached to doctor her lip again when he heard another growl. _That was not Kagome. _Hiei left his hand frozen in mid air and tilted his head just enough to look at the form balanced in the open window. _How did he mask himself!? I never felt him coming!_

  


The creature let his shield down so the fire demon would have no doubts about his identity, power, or mood. Unfortunately, this let Kagome sense him just as abruptly.

  


Kagome felt the sudden warning and power of a demon. And it was close. Too close. Her head snapped around. _Hell, it was practically in the room! _She widened her eyes at the intruder half in and half out of her second story window.

  


_It's Inuyasha!...no, it's Sesshoumaru? Who the hell is that?! _The demon's energy was oddly familiar but she found herself unable to place it. Familiar golden eyes set in a beautiful face, devoid of markings, topped by a pair of pointed white ears in a mane of silver silk...Kagome tried to clear her head. He was in a staring contest with Hiei, a peculiar half snarl on his almost feminine features. _Inumaru? Sesshouyasha? _She merged the two together in her mind and giggled. It _almost_ worked...

  


White ears swivelled in her direction at the sound, but the demon's eyes never broke contact with Hiei's alert red gaze. Still watching his rival, the new guest raised his straight slim nose and scented the air. Apparently he found something he didn't like because that's when he threw himself into the room charging at Hiei.

  


Hiei was no fool and quickly dodged the enraged kitsune. He knew exactly who this was and had a good idea as to why he was pissed. As soon as the window was cleared of fox demon, Hiei disappeared out of it. He also knew that the demon would follow him.

  


A flash of movement and the fire demon was gone. Youko Kurama's momentum pulled him forward and he crashed into the stool holding the woman he had come to see.

  


Kagome felt herself falling and could do little to brace herself since she was going over backwards. In almost slow motion, she watched the silver haired demon rebound off her desk and dart toward her. His movements were almost like those of a dancer. Fluid and smooth actions that were loose and at the same time controlled. Just before the back of her head made contact with the floor, he caught her, and time resumed it's panicked flight.

  


Silvery blue eyes stared in shocked surprise at gold. With his silver hair falling around them, mixing with her thick ebony tresses, he felt his demon rage leave his blood. It was replaced with a feeling that was thicker, energized, but just as strong. His body burned where it was in contact with hers. His hands, arms, and thigh that was pressed against her own legs tingled in a way he had never experienced. Her sharp intake of breath made the gold eyes pull down.

  


Youko Kurama remembered what had sent him over the edge of his precious control to begin with. She was with another, and he could smell her blood. The drop of red staining her lower lip garnered his full attention.

  


Kagome's thoughts were spinning. A raging demon had broken into her room, attacked her friend (who had run off and left her there), knocked her down, caught her, and was now staring at her mouth. Indeed, she wondered why she had not screamed yet.

  


He no longer seemed to be full of blood lust or in the mood to attack, so Kagome decided not to waste her scream. She had a question instead. _Who was this guy? And why didn't he put her down?_

  


Kagome ran her tongue over suddenly dry lips and winced when she felt the cut open again. She took a breath. "Who-" she didn't finish that question. In fact she was too shocked to do more then squeak in protest.

  


Youko Kurama leaned in and carefully cleaned and sealed her small injury with a few gentle strokes of his tongue. She went rigid in his arms, so he quit his first aid long enough to look down at her. She was looking at him with her eyes slightly crossed and dilated. He quickly leaned in and took advantage of her temporary inability to tell hin no and gently bathed the wound once more.

  


When he felt her shudder, he nuzzled her mouth and finally gave in to his desire to kiss her. She tasted as good as she felt next to him. He allowed his lips to play gently over hers until she came to her senses and pushed him away. Instead of pushing, he was surprised to feel her hands tangle in the folds of his shirt. She responded hesitantly to his soft caress and instinctively closed her eyes.

  


He deepened the kiss just enough to tease them both and make them want more. He felt a nervous flutter in his stomach which was strange. Over the centuries, he had had numerous other partners, but never had he experienced this enticing newness in his encounters.

  


Hiei had to grab the branch next to him to keep from falling out of the tree. He knew his mouth was hanging open in surprise, but he couldn't force himself to leave. When he realized Kurama hadn't followed him like he had been sure he would, Hiei had run back in a blind panic.

  


He had just hoped Kagome was still in one piece. A demon rage was unpredictable. Apparently, this is not what he had to worry about. He gaped at the intimate picture of a couple and pulled himself back together. He began to grow angry at his friend_. I warned you. I told you to leave her alone. I won't have you breaking her heart, Kurama._

  


Youko felt the fire demon's return and pinned his ears back. He kisses her once more, harder, to show her his intentions to stake a claim, and disappeared from her arms. He was out the window and facing the angry Koorime with the heat of his own rage fueling him on.

  
  


******************************************************************************

  
  


Well, readers! There is Youko for you! Dose anyone think that I may have to up the rating? I hope not to, but if it is recommended enough, I will change it.I have already toned down a few pieces to avoid an R for this fic. There will not be a lemon! Just in case you were wondering...I am too embarrassed to write it! Hehehe...stupid human emotions....

  


Oh well, answers to reviewer will be at the end of the next chapter!

  


Sylvannastar

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	31. Kagome's Victory

Kagome's Victory

***************

  


Before Hiei could berate his friend for taking advantage of the human girl, the fox struck. Hiei widened his ruby eyes at the attack and flitted away before the kitsune could connect a blow. Apparently the idiot was so worked up, he was rushing in blindly and striking wildly. 

  


This behavior was a far cry from the Kurama he knew and the Youko who was so precise and skilled, Hiei was at a loss as to how to respond. He pulled his sword in reflex alone and regretted the action as a familiar rose appeared in his opponents clawed hand.

  


"Now face me!" the silver fox growled.

  


"Cease this stupidity!" Hiei snarled back.

  


Youko roared and transformed his whip to lash at the Jaganishi. Hiei dodged and made a desperate attempt to bring the demon to his senses by bringing the blunt side of his blade down on the silver head. Hiei had no desire to injure his friend, but Youko wasn't himself. It may be inevitable to have to bring the fox to his knees in order to stop this madness.

  


Hiei wrapped both hands around the hilt of his sword and tried to determine the fox's intentions. Perhaps then he could figure out how to diffuse the situation. _How had Kurama lost control? What was causing him to act so strangely?_ He leapt deftly aside and narrowly missed the slash of the whip.

  


Kurama was fighting to regain control, but Youko was in a blind rage. He wanted both to see Hiei subdue the fox spirit and at the same time, he wanted Youko to succeed in ripping Hiei apart. But, it was his _friend _he was attacking! The situation was all wrong.

  


The whip swung around again, this time Hiei couldn't get out of its way. Most of the force of the blow was halted by a lucky block with his sword, but the remaining lash caught him across the shoulder. He took the blow without a sound and made a quick escape. _Damn that fox, anyway! If he is determined to fight, so be it!_

  


Hiei ripped off his headband and circled the fox spirit warily. He spun inside, around a clawed fist and made three shallow hits on the tall figure.He gritted his teeth and felt the whip pull a bloody furow across his back before he could turn again.

  


The scent of blood made Youko cry aloud in triumph. He raced again toward the demon in front of him and snarled in rage as the fire apparition vanished in a blur. He felt the sudden slashes over his arms as the other demon made use of his speed to make his own marks. Neither could back down now. Now it was personal.__

  


_******************************************************************************_

  


Kagome fell the rest of the way to the floor with a thump when the arms that had been supporting her disappeared, and was jolted back to the present. _Did I...I DID! Oh, god..._Kagome lay prone on her bed room floor, trying to make sense out of what had happened. _My first real kiss...and I don't even know who he was!_

  


She didn't count the time she almost killed Kurama. She didn't think it counted as a real shared moment due to Kurama's inability to breath and her own response being primarily embarrassment. _Not that I'm not embarrassed now..._

  


Kagome pulled herself off her bedroom floor. She could still feel both Hiei and the other demon's energy. A quick look out the window made her gasp. They were fighting, and it looked serious. "Oh, god!" she ran to the open window.

  


So far, her family had not been woken up so she refused to be the one to do so now. The fight, thank god, was eerily silent except for the sharp snap of the whip, the sound of Hiei's sword slicing threw the air, and the occasional snarl. Kagome threw a leg over the sill and grasped at the closest branch of her tree. She heard the silver demon laugh in triumph and she used her anger at their behavior, and her concern for Hiei, to lend her strength.

  


She reached the branch and scooted along its length to the thick trunk. She wrapped her arms around the rough pillar and sobbed. "Stop! Stop it!"

  


She dropped down to a lower branch and tried again. "Hiei, please!" Kagome was almost to the ground. Neither demon had made any sign to show they even knew she was there. "Damn it!" She landed on the stones of the courtyard around the shrine, and ran around the freshly made Inuyasha shaped flower bed. "Stop!"

  


Kagome couldn't believe that they were still ignoring her. _How am I supposed to get the attention of two blood thirsty demons. _ Kagome paused. _Do I really want the full attention of two blood thirsty demons?_

  


She watched as two long thin ribbons of blood appeared over the silver demon's back. He retaliated, causing Hiei to temporarily lose the use of one arm. _Hell yes, she'd interfere! _ Kagome saw the glint of red in their eyes and knew what that meant. They were fighting to kill.

  


Kagome refused to think anymore about it and streaked across the courtyard and right into the battle. She threw herself in between the warring demons and cringed, waiting for the sword or whip to fall on her.

  


It never came. Kagome stood between the two bloody bodies with no clue what she should do now. "Stop it! No more!"

  


Hiei ignored her and yelled at the silver fox instead. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

  


Kagome believed that this was directed at her and glared at the fire apparition.

  


"You made her bleed!" Youko snarled back. His eyes kept flickering red, gold and green. Kagome jerked her head around to glare at the stranger.

  


"I did nothing of the sort!"

  


"I'll kill you!"

  


"Ha!"

  


"Shut up!" Kagome yelled. It got quiet. She marched up to the silvered demon, whoes ears were twitching in anger and surprise, and yanked the whip out of his startled hands and proceeded to slap him. Hard. It was the perfect slap, courtesy of all the practice Miroku gave her.

  


Then she turned to the equally startled koorime. Hiei's jagon glowed but she spared it no more than a glance. She snatched his sword from his blood slicked fingers and glared into his eyes, all three of them.

  


"Don't use me as an excuse to slit one another's throats," she snarled. She went back to the tree and with difficulty, climbed back up into it's lowest branches, grumbling the whole way up. "Stupid demons. Killing each other because I fell asleep at my desk...dumb thing to do...no right to kiss me...stupid sword...now I got blood on my new school uniform!...argh!"

  


She climbed back into her window, dragging the weapons behind her and glared back at the two silent figures. She pulled the window down with a sharp click and drew the drapes, hiding her from view.

  


Both felt a strange emptiness in the pit of their stomach as if they had just lost something very important. "My sword..." Hiei tried to convince himself, but couldn't help but hate the closed window. 

  


"She slapped me!" Of all the injuries covering the fox, he was holding his cheek.

  


"Hn."

  


"I've never been slapped before!" Youko sounded incredulous. He looked at the demon in front of him. "Hey! Why didn't she slap you?"

  


"I didn't kiss her, baka."

  


Youko got a dreamy look on his face and let go of his slightly reddened cheek. "Good. I would really have to kill you if you had."

  


Hiei grimaced at his friend. "You are impossible."

  


Youko winked as if the deadly battle had never happened. He sat down right where he was and began to check and wash the wounds he could reach with his tongue.

  


Hiei occupied himself with tying his headband back in place and plotting the best way to retrieve his sword. It took forever to tie the damned knot with one arm hardly working.

  


Youko had finished tending his own injuries and was now approaching Hiei with a gleam in his golden eyes.

  


"Don't even think about it," Hiei eyed him warily. 

  


"It would help."

  


"I'll take my chances with possible blood loss."

  


Youko grinned at him, fully intending to help heal the injuries that he had caused.

  


"What the hell happened to you anyway? You charged at me as if I had been torturing the girl."

  


"I could smell her blood..." Youko did not sound apologetic.

  


"That little cut sent you that far over the edge?" Hiei warily kept at least six feet of space between them. "It sounds like your interest in her is serious."

  


"Perhaps."

  


"I warned you before. Do not hurt her. Do not force me to finish this."

  


"Why does everyone think that I'm gonna hurt her!?" Youko suddenly exploded. "All I want is the chance to give her the exact opposite."

  


"And what of when you leave her? Don't you think that will hurt her?" Hiei retreated again as Youko advanced.

  


"If I claim her, then I won't leave her."

  


Hiei's crimson eyes locked with his. "You'd take her as your mate? A human girl? You don't know what you're saying!"

  


Youko growled a warning. "What I choose to do is no concern of yours."

  


"I told you before, fox, she is a friend. I don't take that bond lightly. Not with you. Not with her."

  


Youko sucked in a breath and gave up trying to catch the fire demon. Hiei wouldn't have appreciated his attentions anyway.

_Damned right! And neither would I. The girl is one thing. I could never look Hiei in the eye again if you __gave him a tongue bath! _Shuuichi responded.

  


Youko did some quick imagining and didn't get as much pleasure out of it as he normally would have.

  


_Ewww!_

  


That part was still fun, of course. Somehow his longtime fascination with Hiei was quickly lost under the new, more intense attraction to Kagome. His thoughts were full of her. And his attachment to her rivaled his forced attachment to the human who's body he wore.

  


_Hey! You mean you'd ditch me for her? _Shuuichi teased.

  


_In a heart beat._

  


_You'll break my heart._

  


_Since you're along for the ride, I guess you better get used to sharing me._

  


_I could say the same._

  


_What do you mean? _Youko asked.

  


_She may chose me over you, you know_.

  


_Keh! I'm stronger, better looking and-_

  


_-full of yourself. _Shuuichi finished.

  


_Neither of you is going to get her_, a third, echoing voice cut in.

  


_What!?_

  


Youko looked at Hiei carefully.

  


_Baka, I'm in here too. It seems we really are three conscious beings now. I'm the overlapped versions of you both. And since I'm the best of both of you..._

  


_Shit!_

  


Youko allowed Kurama to take over and the silver hair faded into the deep garnet and his eyes became the emerald green.

  


_You always spoil my fun, _Yuoko grumbled. 

  


Kurama's throaty chuckle grabbed Hiei's attention. He saw his friends altered appearance and sighed in relief. Familiar green eyes sparkled at him under the crimson locks of hair.

  


"Need assistance?"

  


Hiei made sure those eyes stayed green before allowing Kurama to approach. "Hn."

  


"I apologize. These things should not have happened."

  


"Hn."

  


"You are not going to forgive me, are you?"

  


"You didn't do this. That stupid fox..."

  


Kurama looked at his friend, surprise evident on his face.

  


"Keep him on a shorter leash, Kurama."

  


"I do my best, Hiei."

  


"Hn. You know he intends to mate with the girl?"

  


"I know."

  


"Will you let him?"

  


"I..."

  


"You'd be a fool."

  


"To let him-or to let myself? We are still one person."__

  


"Hn. Take it how you want to." Hiei tested the bandages and flexed his fingers._ "_Either way, you're still a fool."

  


"So I should just forget her?"

  


Hiei gave him the how-stupid-can-you-be-look. "That would be an even bigger mistake." Hiei got that sullen look back on his face. "Deal with your own issues if you want to be fair to her. Don't make the assumption that she'll share you...even with yourself."

  


Kurama's intent and focussd look wasnot lost on the fire apparition. "What of you, Hiei? What holds you to her?"

  


"I've already said. She's a friend."

  


"No more?"

  


"Jealous, are you?"

  


"Very."

  


Hiei was surprised that Kurama could admit this so openly. "I have no feelings for her like that." he assured the tense red-head. Kurama visibly relaxed. "She is too much like Yukina."

  


"No. There is no other like her," Kurama corrected his friend.__

  


"Hn."

  


They both looked up at the closed and hidden window. "We really messed up, didn't we?"

  


"Speak for yourselves. I was merely defending myself." Hiei was truly disturbed by the loss of a stupid, open, welcoming window. It was dumb, but it made him feel more alone then he had previously felt.

  


"I don't think she saw it that way. That _was_ your sword she hauled away."

  


"Hn." Suddenly Hiei had another thought and straightened. "She didn't have a clue who you were, did she?" he accused.

  


Kurama had the nerve to turn away slightly before answering. "No, she didn't."

  


"No wonder she slapped you."

  


Kurama sighed and fingered the remains of his shirt front. "She slapped Youko."

  


"What ever. I'm sure you enjoyed every minute of it."__

  


Kurama felt his face heat and tried to think of some way to changethe subject. Hiei would have none of that, though.

  


"You've got some tough competition."

  


"I know."

  


"The dog-"

  


"No, Boton's taken care of that."

  


"Boton!?....hn."

  


"So you see, my worst enemy is me."

  


"Baka."

  


"No one ever said love was simple."

  


"Love, huh?"

  


"..."

  


"This is foolisher then I thought."

  


"More foolish."

  


"What?"

  


It's more foolish, not foolisher."

  


"What does it matter?"

  


"None, if you don't mind sounding like Kuwabara."

  


Hiei considered frying the red head. Kurama felt the edges of his clothing smoulder and quickly changed the course of the discussion.

  


"So you adopted Kagome as another sister? You don't even associate with the one you have."

  


"Shut your mouth, Kurama. Unless you have a death wish."

  


"I'm just curious why you took to a human girl so quickly. It's really not like you."

  


Hiei snorted in disgust, but refused to answer. He prepared to leave, deciding to collect his sword when the girl was in a better humor, and he wasn't such a mess. "You better apologize to her," he said and vanished.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Phew! This one was longer then usual. But, what do you think? I couldn't decide if I like this sequence or not...I'm still undecided. It may not make the final cut of the story when I edit it if it is not received well, so tell me your thoughts! I need the support! And the criticism if it's for the work and not a personal opinion about someone else's values!

  


I broke 100 reviews! Yeah!

  


Thanks to my reviewers!

  


Shinigami Clara

Artemis the Goddess

Helen

Elyndewen Startree-sorry about the multi chapter update thing, but everyone seems to enjoy them...let me know if it gets messed up again this time and I'll try to figure something out...

Diaphanous-as always you inspire me to want to keep writing!

Dark Topaz

Ai Higeki

watergoddesskasey-was that a good "God!" or a bad "God!"

DemonLady1

Inu Youkai-Hime-did you get my email?

TYDYE girl

hiei is mine forever- ah, yeah I like squirrels. We feed the ones in the back yard peanut butter sandwiches...they love 'em!

Ladyofthedragons1

Gryphnwng-sorry, Hiei isn't ready for a romantic love yet! Mostly I don't like bringing in too many characters and I already have a lot! Two series worth! Whew! And I couldn't think of who to pair him up with that would work well...and my other Hiei/Kag fic in my head prevents me from going in-depth with his characters romantic side (!) In this fic! When I started this idea, believe me, it was a challenge to resist over kill and pairing him up with someone too!

Dee-Chan- thank you for all 28 reviews! Lol...And how was that for a bit more action? It goes either way!

Hinoke-heating up? I've only just got started! Mwwhhahahhahahaha!

Lemmings-please- I'm so happy that you think that I've kept the characters close to their true nature! That is tough to do and I really struggled! (Hence the long story)

Laloba-I have already read your stories! It was before I actually joined up and began to write myself and could review...what kinda cookie? 

Star96

andrea10

Kuro Eien Hayabusa

Mistress-Pen

ixi-I have no idea what that meant...but thanks?

Kagome-chan14

  


That is the most reviews I've had at one time! Wow! Thank you everyone for taking the time to let me know you like (or don't like) the story!

  


Sylvannastar

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	32. An Opportunity Lost

  


The reviewer responses and notes will be at the end of the last chapter I posted this time. There are three again!

  


I was absolutely amazed that I got over fifty reviews in one week! WOW! I'm vibrating, I'm so excited! That is more then I ever expected...believe me! I'm not complaining! I'm so happy!

  


An Opportunity Lost

*****************

  


Kurama stared up at the dark window and sighed. "There is no better time then the present..."

  


Kagome had cleaned Hiei's sword carefully. She had come to understand the value of a weapon during her time in the past and reasoned that she had no excuse to be so spiteful as to allow the blade to rust.

  


The whip was another story. Soon after returning to her room, the thing had turned into a flower. The crimson rose was lying innocently on her pillow. She was tempted to put it in water, but wasn't certain if that kind of treatment would ruin the weapon. She wasn't even sure if the silver demon would come back for it.

  


A light tapping at her window pulled her eyes from the silky petals of the rose. _Do I ignore them? _The tapping came again. _Or do I allow this to continue..._Kagome pulled the drape aside enough to see pleading green eyes looking in at her. "Kurama!"

  


Kagome opened her window ans stuck her head out. "What are you doing here?"

  


Kagome's surprise reminded him that he had yet to explain his Youko/Shhuichi sides to her. An apology at this time would not make any sense to her. He opened his mouth to answer when she looked around him suspiciously. 

  


"You didn't see anyone else out here, did you?"

  


"I just finished bandaging Hiei, but he's left now," he answered honestly. He didn't actually lie, he just didn't clarify his response to answer the question the way she really meant to ask it.

  


"Good." She backed up into her room and motioned for him to follow. "Come on in."

  


Kurama stood by her desk, his mind replaying the last time he had been here with her alone, as Youko. It had been less then an hour ago, but it felt like ages had already passed.

  


As soon as Kagome got a good look at him the light, she gasped and ran from the room. Kurama blinked as she ran back in with a first aid kit. "What happened?!" She shoved him down on her bed and began pulling the ripped and bloody shirt over his head.

  


He gulped, trying to find the words to explain himself even as her hands on his skin distracted him. "Ummm..."

  


_Yeah, that was eloquent! _Youko was purring.

  


_Haven't you caused enough trouble?_

  


_It was worth every moment!_

  


"How did this happen?" Kagome gently washed the wounds Youko had been unable to reach. "Did you get in a fight with a demon?"

  


"Yes. But-"

  


"Did you lose?"

  


"No. I-"

  


"So you defeated it?"

  


"No. It was-"

  


"Does this hurt?" She pressed down with an alcohol soaked bandage.

  


"Mmmph!"

  


"I guess that's a yes. Sorry." She applied the same treatment to the next cut on his back. He held back the gasp and turned his face away from her. His green eyes spotted the blood red rose lying gently on a pristine white pillow.

  


_Damn it! That hurts!_

  


_You're supposed to be Youkai. Quit whining._

  


Youko whimpered.

  


_Baka, Hiei's sword through your gut hardly phased you. A few scratches and you go all to pieces..._

  


_Its your body._

  


_...that's right..._

  


He focused on the rose. It gave the impression that there had been an intimate moment in this very place between two people who cared deeply for each other. He wished he could leave her roses like that purposely. 

  


He hastily smothered another gasp, this time caused by Kagome who had leaned down to blow gently on the stinging wounds. She thought she was helping. His flesh broke out in goose bumps and she apologized for hurting him.

  


_Good god, woman! _Youko howled._ What are you thinking boy? Don't let her _do _that! I can't stand it!_

  


_I think it's nice to be cared for..._Shuuichi countered.

  


_Ohhh..._Youko moaned. _The naivety of the innocent... _

  


The moan actually became vocal before Kurama could contain it. Her hands immediately grew gentler and she pulled him around to face her. "I'm sorry, Kurama, but these have to be cleaned."

  


He nodded his acceptance, unwilling to tell her the real reason behind the sound. Now he could see her face, etched in worry and concern...for him. Damn it! It was getting harder and harder to hide his reactions from the girl, and from himself.

  


"I forgot you were a hanyou," Kagome said. "You're almost half healed already."

  


"Hanyou?...About that, Kagome," he began.

  


"It's okay, Kurama. It doesn't bother me. I actually feel safer knowing that I have strong people like you looking out for me."

  


She pulled a roll of gauze across his chest and lifted his long red hair out of her way. She was starting to realize how strange this day had been. She finished with the bandages and gave him a quick once over to be sure she missed nothing. She smoothed his hair back in place and couldn't resist running her fingers through the thick locks.

  


"You have such beautiful hair," she sighed. "What is it about demon blood and perfect hair?" She noticed his glazed over green eyes and giggled. "You look like Shippo when I play with his tail."

  


_You can play with my tail anytime you want to..._Youko waited. _What, no come back? _He sighed in the silence.

  


Kagome had a sudden thought. "Um, Kurama, were you fighting a demon with silver hair?" she asked him.

  


His eyes remained glazed over, where he was relishing the feeling of her fingers sliding over his hair. "Always..."

  


"What?"

  


He bowed his head, allowing the long strands to slip over his shoulders and hide his face. He couldn't tell her. He didn't want to risk having her pull away from him and leave him.

  


Kagome noticed how her friend had gone suddenly tense beside her. She stroked his long hair in concern and tried to offer what ever silent comfort she could. She knew he had secrets, but then, who didn't? She had a secret herself...She blushed, knowing she was enjoying touching him way too much. She smothered her own sigh and wondered what it would have been like to let Kurama have her first real kiss...instead of that stranger...Not that it hadn't been exceptional. She wasn't complaining. It just wasn't how she expected to be kissed the first time. She wondered if she should tell him...not that she wanted to kiss him but that the strange demon had kissed her. She wasn't sure how to even go about bringing the topic up and so ignored it.

  


She looked over at him again. _He's so cute! ..and beaten up..._she sighed. Suddenly decided, she pressed his shoulders down onto her bed and smoothed the bangs away from the startled green of his eyes.

  


"You need to rest." Kagome stood and returned to her desk, righted her overturned stool, and returned to her homework. Kurama didn't pass over the chance to study her and enjoy the company. He didn't intend the fall asleep.

  


******************************************************************************

  


That's where Inuyasha found him the next morning. Sleepy green eyes flickered open to stare into angry gold. Inuyasha's deep growling had woken him up.

  


_I can't believe I slept though his arrival..._He refused to let the dog demon see how upset this made him and decided the best way to keep things passive was to show a certain amount of unconcern. Like a clumsy cat, Kurama assumed the air of everything-is-happening-just-how-I-meant-it-to, yawned, and proceeded to dismiss the growling Hanyou by turning over.

  


"Where is Kagome?" Inuyasha sounded choked, hoarse, and ready for his temper to explode.

  


_That's a good question..._Kurama tried to sense her unique energy and found her moving about in the next room. The connecting door clicked and swung open to reveal a wet and harassed looking girl dressed in nothing but a towel.

  


"Good morning," she said bluntly. "Excuse me, I forgot a few things." Kagome brushed past the two boys and retrieved a pile of clothes she had obviously collected before her bath and forgotten to take with her. She walked past them again, mumbling an apology. She almost reached the door when she stopped to look out the open window. 

  


Hiei looked in at the trio, fuming inside, but looking casually indifferent. The near naked woman gave him a good glare and left the room. He heard her grumbling from the other room. "Might as well come in too. Not like a girl needs a few moments alone...I should be used to the dumb lack of privacy thing by now anyway. Hell, Inuyasha has seen me naked enough times I shouldn't be embarrassed now, right?..."The door clicked shut.

  


Inuyasha felt two pairs of eyes on him, one green, one ruby red, and knew his face was probably the same color as his clothes. "It's not like that!"

  


"Hn."

  


"It was that stupid hentai monk! Always following the girls when they are bathing..."

  


"Hn."

  


"Ggggggggrrrrr...."

  


Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest. "Keh! I don't need to explain myself to you guys."

  


A quick knock on the door preceded the dark head of Mrs. Higurashi. "Kagome dear, you have...visitors?" She blinked at the three boys comfortably lounging in her only daughter's room with a bold eye. When her eyes landed on the shirtless red head, her brown eyes widened sightly. They all fidgeted under her calm look. "I guess I'll just send them up..." she cast another glace about the room before speaking. "Breakfast will be done in thirty minutes." The door closed only to be swung back open a short time later by Yusuke, Boton and Kuwabara.

  


"Ah...when did you guys get here?" Yusuke looked around.

  


"A few minutes ago," chorused Hiei and Inuyasha together.

  


Everyone else looked at Kurama who was examining the slightly wilted flower next to his head with great interest.

  


"He was lying there asleep when I came in," Inuyasha mouthed off without mercy for the kitsune. 

Kuwabara started to cough.

  


"Breathing become difficult for you? You could always stop." Hiei commented.

  


"Wow," Yusuke complimented the fox.

  


Kurama looked them all in the eye but said nothing.

  


"He was asleep when you came in?" Yusuke questioned. "You must have been _really _tired, Kurama. Were you up too late?"

  


The innocent wording of the question bellied the actual meaning Yusuke was hinting at. Before Kurama could retort, Kagome answered from the other doorway.

  


"Very late. Poor guy, he passed out from exhaustion not too long after I tore his shirt off of him."

  


Kurama's shirtless state and Kagome's dead-pan voice testified to her seriousness. Only the slight twinkle in her eyes revealed the mischievous bend to her words.

  


Inuyasha stumbled to a sitting position and pinned his ears back. "Idiot. You were hardly near him."

  


"What are you implying, Inuyasha?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

  


"I could smell it if you had-"

  


"Don't make me say 'it', Inuyasha." She was satisfied when his jaw snapped shut with an audible click.

  


Kurama threw an arm over his eyes and tried to pretend that he was anywhere but there. Or more accurately, that everyone else was elsewhere...he happened to be quite comfortable where he was.

  


"Where's my sword?" Hiei demanded.

  


Kagome tossed the weapon to him, cleaned and strangely purified of the taint of blood and death that such items hold. Hiei examined it curiously and slid it into place at his side when his inspection satisfied him.

  


"Do you think that other guy will come back for his...er...weapon?" she waved a hand vaguely around.

  


Hiei jerked his head around to glare at the still silent Kitsune. "No." Kurama winced at Hiei's tone. "He can easily make another."

  


"Other guy?" Yusuke asked. "Did you fight a demon, Hiei?"

  


"Yes."

  


"Right in my room and in the courtyard," Kagome clarified, with an aggrieved expression.

  


"No way." Inuyasha huffed. "There are no unfamiliar scents, demon or human, out there or in here."

  


"Are you calling me a liar?" she glared at him.

  


"N-no!"

  


"Hn." she borrowed Hiei's line again.

  


"Why are you in such a bad mood?" he snapped back at her.

  


Kagome glared at the dog demon, the glint of anger in her eyes making several of the others in the room hastily step back.

  


"Wh-why?" she questioned in a soft voice. "You want to know why? Fine. I'll tell you. Because you never showed up yesterday when I asked you to. Because I know something that may be important to our mission. Because I didn't get my final Literature assignment finished since I fell asleep. Because some strange demon arrived and attacked Hiei in my bedroom, then kissed me," she ignored the gasps, "only to leave just as suddenly as he arrived to attack Hiei again. Who by and by, left me alone in here with him to begin with!" She glared at the wide eyed Jaganashi, her voice steadily rising. "Then, I stopped the stupid, pointless fight, which was started because of a split lip I gave to myself. Because then, Kurama shows up, injured and I help him. Where he proceeds to fall asleep on my bed, sprawled, I might add, so there was no room for even Byou to share the pillow." 

  


"Mreow..." Byou agreed.

  


"Is that all? Feh-"

  


"No. I'm in a really foul mood because I slept on goddamned STOOL!" Kagome sat down abruptly on said stool and glared at her literature book. "I never got my assignment done..." she hefted the book once before chucking it at Inuyasha's head. "AND the hot water stopped working. AND," the can of pencils was aimed at Hiei, who was too shocked to move out of the way. "I'm awake at 7:00 in the morning, on the one day I have left to sleep in before going back to the past with you." She threw the stapler at Kurama who easily caught the object so she followed it with a candle in a jar which made a slightly satisfying smack on his left shoulder. "Because I have finals tomorrow and I can't study. Because," she eyed the stool she was sitting on and trained her eyes on Kuwabara's hunched figure but decided against it. "Yesterday was my mother and fathers anniversary and for the first time, I completely forgot, I'm a horrible daughter. And," she crossed her arms daring anyone to say anything, "It's that time of month."

  


Wisely, everyone kept very quiet and very still, even if the guys paled visibly at that last comment.

  


Kagome sighed and dropped her chin in her hand. "Sorry. Its just a mood. I do not feel the least bit cheerful or forgiving this morning. I just feel strange...ill.." She rubbed at her eyes trying to hide that fact that she was about to cry.

  


"Kagome," Inuyasha approached her cautiously. "I've known you for years now. You've never acted this way before. Not even at, well, that time of month..." Kagome turned sad eyes up to his worried golden ones.

  


"Not _That_ time, Baka," she blushed. "Kikyo's strongest time...when I feel my soul splitting from me...more and more..." she was whispering now.

  


"What!? You never said anything before!" Inuyasha pulled her head up.

  


"It's never been this strong before," Kagome sighed. "Besides, you wouldn't have believed me anyway."

  


"Kago...me..."

  


"I'm going for a walk. Please just give me a few minutes alone, okay? I need just a few minutes..." she rose and went to the door slowly. "I'm really sorry, everyone. I shouldn't have taken my problems out on you." She left them in a state of semi-shock and concern.

  


"...her...soul..." Inuyasha said in a small voice kneeling by the stool that she had just vacated.

"Oh, Kagome..."

  


******************************************************************************

  
  


More trouble in wonderland! Boton is going to be getting her chance to make an impression on the hanyou in coming chapters!

  
  
  
  
  



	33. Hard Decisions

Hard Decisions

*************

  


_Kagome...I never knew...I didn't realize..._Inuyasha stood up and stalked to the window. 

  


"Hey! Where are you going?" Boton clutched at his sleeve.

  


"To stop her."

  


"She wants to be alone."

  


"Not Kagome, I mean Kikyo. I'll make her stop this. I...I never knew, Boton. I never realized Kikyo was...hurting Kagome like this..." He sank his talons into the window sill. "And I kept protecting that stupid bitch..."

  


"Kikyo wasn't always evil..." Boton tried to assure him. "She was good inside, once."

  


"Yeah, and all of that, she is now trying to strip away from Kagome..." he laughed shortly. "I just wish I knew how to send her back to where she belongs."

  


"I do."

  


"What?"

  


"I know how. I can help her move on...with out killing the spirit she now possesses." Boton answered quietly.

  


"What are you thinking, Boton?" Yusuke butted in. "That isn't our mission."

  


She swung around at him, arms fisted at her sides. "Protecting Kagome is part of our mission! If Kikyo steals Kagome's soul, what do you think is going to happen to her, Yusuke?"

  


"Uhhh..."

  


"She'll die!"

  


Yusuke examined his hands and digested this. He glanced around to see everyone's reactions and found them all to be no help at all. Inuyasha and Boton were staring at each other. Kurama looked like he was ready to murder anyone who came near him, Hiei was fingering the hilt of his sword and standing with his eyes closed. Kuwabara was petting the obese cat and watching Yusuke closely. _Always the supporter... _Yusuke grinned at the giant.

  


"Kikyo will kill her eventually," Boton pressed.

  


"No. I won't let that happen." Inuyasha crouched down. "Get on."

  


"What?!"

  


"Get on, woman! You'll help me find and save both Kikyo and Kagome."

  


Boton gingerly climbed up onto Inuyasha's back like she had seen Kagome do and suddenly found herself flying through the air. "Eeep!"

  


"Wait, Boton!"

  


Yusuke hung out the much used window and glared at the blur of energy from the well house. "Ah, shit...I would have gone with her."

  


"Finals, Urameshi. Keiko would never forgive you if you failed the grade," Kuwabara reminded him.

  


"So!?" he spat. "This is the life of our friend! She would have to understand."

  


"Do you really think that it is so bad? I mean she has been fighting it for three years..."

  


"Multiply the worst physical pain you have ever felt by ten and you may have an idea of what it feels like to have your soul broken." Hiei said unexpectedly. "It hurts."

  


An admission of pain from Hiei was unheard of. They didn't ask he would know such a thing...probably some torture he used on some soul long ago...

  


A harsh growl from the bed made them look at the kitsune laid out on the white coverlet. He was obviously fighting with himself. He was sweating and clenching his teeth, the growl never abating.

  


"Kurama!" Yusuke jumped to his friends side. "Are you gonna change again?"

  


"Stop it, fox. This in not what she needs now." Hiei's words were soft but sincere. "Kagome is not interested in revenge or grudges. Use your head, baka."

  


"Whadda you mean?" Kuwabara scratched his head.

  


"Hiei..." Yusuke protested. He was all for kicking some ass...

  


"She needs her friends now. She needs you...us." Hiei continued, ignoring the other two.

  


Kurama slowly relaxed and nodded. "You're right."

  


"Of course I am."

  


Kurama let a small smile slip. "Can we do-"

  


"Hn."

  


"I see. We wait..for Boton to succeed."

  


"Or fail."

  


"She won't."

  


******************************************************************************

  
  


Kagome sank to her knees next to the God Tree and hugged the massive giant. It's slow but powerful calming pulse reached inside of her and soothed the hurt and pain. She rested her cheek on the rough bark and smile. "Thank you..."

  


She allowed the waves of pain, fear and helplessness flow through and out of her. _Kikyo...I'm not finished yet..._She saw Inuyasha jump past her with Boton on his back, and sensed them disappear into the well house. "What is he doing?...Boton..." She sat still and absorbed what calm and peaceful energies she could. When night comes, it would be worse, because then she would be alone with her fear. Kagome rubbed her fingers on the tree and contemplated her short life. Things had been changing all around her, these past years, but no time before had she felt so lost.

  


Even when she was fifteen and newly arrived in the warring states era, she still knew who she was inside. She knew herself and her feelings. Now however, that had changed. She wasn't sure what was her own emotions and what was carryover from Kikyo. How much of herself was really her own? She felt very alone. _Because I let Inuyasha go...I feel alone. I was using him to define myself. I have other friends, others who care for me greatly, but...I feel like I'm not complete. I've lost so many pieces of my soul, my heart, and my identity. And I feel alone because...who is going to want a woman with only part of a soul? Was Inuyasha really my last chance?...my only chance?..._

  


A fleeting image of Kurama_, _followed by the stranger from last night filtered through her thoughts. _Would I dare to assume Kurama could accept...this...hollow girl? And that guy, he kissed me, so I must not be...repulsive at least...This is stupid._

  


Kagome felt awful. _Here I am, with guests and friends who have done nothing but help and support me and I'm out here sulking like a child. _Kagome went back inside and climbed the stairs to her room. _I should be thankful for all the good people who _DO _care! I have a rich life..._

  


Kagome suddenly smiled, happy and feeling much more like herself. She pushed open the door to her room and bounded in. "I'm back!" She announced brightly. "I think I owe everyone another apology...please forgive me?" she asked the guys assembled in her room.

  


Yusuke shook his head at her entrance. "Ah, Kagome?"

  


"Yes?"

  


"Are you okay?"

  


"I'm fine."

  


"Talk about mood swings..." Kuwabara muttered. "She's worse then Shizuru."

  


"About that...sorry," she hung her head and examined her toes.

  


"You are really okay?" Kurama tugged her arm to get her to sit next to him on the bed.

  


"Yes."

  


"Liar." Hiei crossed his arms.

  


"I will be fine, Hiei," she held his stare, determination shining from every feature.

  


"Hn."

  


"Kagome?" she turned back to Yusuke who was looking at her in concern. "Can't you block her?"

  


"No. I'd be blocking part of my own soul. Not a very smart move, I'm afraid. I tried it once..." Kagome yawned and hugged a pillow to her chest. "Sorry."

  


"Kagome! Breakfast! Tell your friends to come down too!"

  


Kagome grinned and shook her head. "Mama-she always knows just what I need..." she laughed. "Let's go! Time to eat."

  


They followed her into the hallway when Kurama grabbed her hand. "Kagome, perhaps I better wait..." 

  


She looked at him in surprise and remembered his half dressed appearance. _ "Oops!" _she ran back into her room and dug down into her closet for the oversized t-shirts that she used to wear to bed. She retrieved a black shirt, hoping that it was big enough for the taller boy and handed it to him.

  


Kurama shrugged into the soft material. It barely fit. It hugged his chest and shoulders, showing off the lean muscles and build. It would do, he supposed. 

  


"Wow. I never looked that good in that shirt," Kagome sighed. "Maybe you should keep it."

  


Hiei snorted behind her and Yusuke chuckled.

  


"I have a shirt like that!" Kuwabara suddenly announced.

  


"Then again, maybe not..." Kagome giggled. "Let's eat."

  


******************************************************************************

  


Miroku's staff jangled a warning right before it smacked Inuyasha in the head. "Fool."

  


"Hey!"

  


Miroku looked in surprise at the blue haired girl that had just looked over Inuyasha's shoulder.

  


"What did you do that for?" she yelled angrily.

  


"Keh!" Inuyasha nodded, thinking she was defending him.

  


"At least wait till he puts me down!"

  


Inuyasha tripped and landed on his face, taking her down with him. "Argghh!" he ground his teeth together so hard he was in danger of losing a fang. _Nothing changes..._

  


Boton felt arms slip around her to help her back to her feet, or so she thought. "HENTAI!" she turned and smacked the monk with an oar that materialized in her hands. She stood there, glaring at the half conscious man, with her arms crossed over her chest protectively. 

  


"Hey, you're still here?" Inuyasha sniffed the air.

  


"It seems you have lost the rest of your mind, whelp. You do realize that is not the woman you left to retrieve, do you not?" Sesshoumaru calmly watched his brother's temper flare.

  


"I have something else to do before Kagome comes back, bastard."

  


"Lady, forgive me. My intentions were to help you..."

  


"Save it. I know who you are," Boton glared.

  


"Oh! You have heard of me then? If that is so, would you do me the honor of baring my-" Sango dropped her weapon on Miroku's head, looking furious.

  


"Hello, I'm Sango. You must be Boton."

  


Boton nodded stupidly. She wasn't so sure that this had been her best decision.

  


"You are no demon. Nor are you human," Sesshoumaru calmly demanded an answer without asking a question.

  


"No. I'm a living spirit."

  


"Living spirit?" a small voice piped up. Boton looked down to see a little human girl holding hands with a kitsune cub. "You mean like the spirit of a tree or a river?" the kit asked.

  


"Ah, no, actually. I'm the living spirit...of...ah...death, actually." she laughed nervously.

  


Sesshoumaru's pale eyebrows rose slightly. _That idiot makes some strange friends...and powerful ones. So she's Lady Death_..._the ferry girl of souls. _

  


"How is Kagome?" Sango asked.

  


"..." Inuyasha sniffed the air again.

  


"Inuyasha?"

  


"I have to go find Kikyo."

  


"WHAT!?"

  


"Feh! I don't have time for this crap. Boton?"

  


"Huh? Oh!" Boton perched on the floating oar and nodded to the group. "Sorry I don't have time to visit, but I have a woman to return to the land of the dead."

  


"Keh! Follow me."

  


"Bye!" she waved cheerily, flying close to the hanyou's heels.

  


"Inuyasha's giving up Kikyo?" Miroku puzzled.

  


"I...I guess so." Sango felt speechless.

  


"Does that mean that he's decided to keep Kagome?"Shippo asked innocently. He missed the sharp look Sesshoumaru flung his way. "I hope not," the fox continued. "I don't think that she likes him like that anymore."

  


_Thank god. _Sesshoumaru thought _Even for a human, she deserves better then that Fool. Wait..."Anymore?"_

  


"Me either," Sango assured him.

  


"I think she likes Kurama?" he bounced and transformed into the tall red head, with Shippos's tail firmly pinned on his backside. He made a dramatic pose and pranced around them in the funniest ways he could think of until the transformation wore off. He even dared to dance around Sesshoumaru who was actually looking on in interest.

  


Sango choked on her laughter. "It looked like him, Shippo. But, I'm sure glad that he doesn't act like that!"__

  


"Well, of course! He's a man, not a little kit like me. It's just more fun this way!"

  


"Brat."

  


He grinned and scampered off to play with Rin and harass Jaken. Maybe with Kikyo gone, Inuyasha would need a new distraction. He didn't want the dog demon to complicate his scheme to get the older fox firmly bound to his Kagome. Maybe that Boton girl...Inuyasha even let her ride on his back. Perhaps if he worked things right, Inuyasha would be too busy to interfere with Kagome's new relationship.

  


******************************************************************************

  


That's one matchmaking little kit!

  


Well, Boton's in for an adventure, Inuyasha some heart ache.

  


Kurama is torturing himself with the constant support of his loyal parasite! (Youko/Shuuichi)

  


Kagome is fighting her fears about her own worth.

  


Hiei is Hiei!

  


What more could happen?

  


Hehehehe!

  


Shall we return to present day Tokyo?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	34. A New Case

A New Case

**********

  


Breakfast was consumed quickly, a testament to Mrs. Higurashi's cooking skills. Everyone was strangely silent after Kurama told Kagome where Inuyasha and Boton had gone.

  


"What will you do now?" Kuwabara asked her as they all walked outside.

  


"I'll go back tomorrow after my finals, like I planned to do. Nothing has really changed. We still have to deal with Naraku and complete the jewel."

  


Kurama frowned.

  


"But-"

  


"I don't really have a choice."

  


"Hey, how did Boton get down the well?" Yusuke suddenly asked.

  


Kagome thought about this. "I don't really know. I'm not even sure how Kurama got through before. Maybe..." she shook her head. "Maybe anyone can get through now."

  


They were interrupted by a beeping from Yusuke's jacket pocket. He pulled out his communicator and saw Koenma's panicked face.

  


"Yusuke! I can't find Boton! She isn't answering her communicator! I-"

  


"She's fine. Just out of range."

  


"Huh?"

  


"Boton left with Inuyasha to release that Kikyo zombie form her bonds to the living world."

  


"Eeeh!?"

  


"That's how I felt about it too." Yusuke told him.

  


"But we have trouble! How could she just leave like that? Ahhhh! Missions are piling up here like the dead!"

  


"Missions?"

  


"You mean more of those lesser demons are coming over?" Kuwabara asked from over Yusuke's shoulder.

  
  


"Constantly. I didn't let Boton tell you before, but, well, the barrier is falling."

  


"WHAT!?" Hiei bellowed.

  


Everyone looked at him. That was a very un-Hiei like outburst.

  


"Don't you think we needed to know that?" Yusuke demanded.

  


"Well, I wanted to be sure." he defended himself.

  


"Excuse me..." Kagome tapped Yusuke's other shoulder. "What is this barrier?"

  


"All the worlds are blocked from each other with a magical barrier," Kurama explained.

  


"I gathered that. But what is it made from and where did it come from?"

  


"No one really knows," Koenma said from the mirror. "But it has been in place for at least five hundred years. Before that, the demon and human worlds were more closely joined."

  


"So this barrier is important?" she asked.

  


"It's essential for the continued existence of both humans and demons. They can not exist peacefully together in the same world."

  


Kagome's mouth made a surprised "O" and she stepped back to think this over.

  


"Yusuke, there are four demons escaped in Tokyo. Find them."

  


"Tokyo is a big place, Koenma. What else can you tell me?"

  


"They are female. They suck the life out of men that they can ensnare."

  


"Eeew!" Kagome wrinkled her nose.

  


Kurama agreed with her prognosis. He may follow some of his baser instincts, but he wasn't ruled by them. His pleasure was in giving pleasure, not satisfying his carnal desires.

  


'So let's go."

  


"No, Yusuke. You and Kuwabara take that case. I have another that Hiei and Kurama can handle."

  


"Fine," Yusuke handed the mirror to Kurama and took off at a run, followed by Kuwabara.

  


"You have need of us?" Kurama prodded the child ruler.

  
  


"Yes. There are reports of two water dragons free from the Makai. They are deadly because apparently, the female is in her heat stage. Anything that moves is destroyed by the male. I figured you two would understand a demon heat and proceed with the necessary caution."

  


"Hn. Not all demons are animalistic in nature." Hiei said grumpily. He glared at the fox and the mirror in his hands.

  


"You're right, of course, but even fire demons have their temper tantrums..." Koenma snorted. "You have your moments too, Hiei. When you choose a mate, will you not protect her with your very life?"

  


"Hn." He had no intentions of taking a mate...ever.

  


"Anyway, it has already destroyed everything within a mile radius of the lake they claimed."

  


"That far?" Kurama asked surprised.

  


"Just hurry up before it gets worse!"

  


"Indeed." Kurama closed the communicator and tucked it into his pocket. "Hiei?"

  


"Hn."

  


"Wait!" Kagome ran inside and returned a short time later with her bow and arrows. "I'm coming too."

  


"No."

  


"Why not? I've fought demons for three years now. I know what I'm doing."

  


"No," Hiei said again.

  


"Don't be foolish. I can help!" she glared.

  


"N–"

  


"Fine," Kurama answered.

  


Hiei's eyes widened. "Damn it, fox-"

  


"Do you really want to leave her here alone to face Kikyo's torment?"

  


"Hn." Hiei conceded, not liking his options.

  


"Hey! I _can_ help, you know!" Kagome protested. "I am not going to break now because of Kikyo!"

  


"Let's just go and get this over with," Hiei growled.

  


"Follow me," Kurama set off. "Koenma showed me where to go."

  


Kagome chased after them, ignoring the strange looks she was getting due to the bow and arrows over her shoulder. She was determined to show them she really could help. She had worth and strength. She was strong. She was a survivor. She could beat these threats in her own time. Kagome wanted them to understand that she knew she was worthy of being there with them.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Oh, Jaken-sama..." a little voice pleaded.

  


The toad sniffed distainfully.

  


"Jaken." a deep voice said.

  


"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" 

  


Sesshoumaru gave him a pointed look until the toad cringed and allowed the human girl to string various chains and bunches of flowers over him.

  


"There! Jaken-sama looks so pretty!"

  


"Keh! That will never happen!" Shippo said sounding like a miniature Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru frowned at the fox and wondered how much the hanyou was influencing the kit. 

  


"Brat!" Jaken snarled at them.

  


Shippo tentatively approached Sesshoumaru's feet and snatched another budding flower from the grass before hurrying to Rin. He handed it to her, waiting to see what else she could make with the fragile things.

  


"Do you like flowers too, Shippo-kun?" Rin asked.

  


"Some."

  


"What kind?"

  


"Uh, well I have a rose from a silver!" he announced proudly.

  


"A silver?" she looked at him.

  


"A silver fox!"

  


"Don't lie brat!" Jaken fumed, pulling the flower chains into pieces.

  


"I'm not lying!" Shippo yelled back.

  


"I've lived for centuries and never seen a silver. There are none! And if there were any, they would never associate with a weak and useless creature like you!" he sneered.

  


"I have too met a silver! He's gonna be my new dad!"

  


"Shippo!" Sango admonished him. "You don't even know for sure if Kagome likes Kurama like that!"

  


"Yes I do." Shippo nodded.

  


"Really? How?" Sango was interested.

  


"I could smell it."

  


"Huh?"

  


"Just like when you are around-"

  


TWACK!

  


"Ow!"

  


Rin was watching with interest.

  


You, fox, that form you took earlier was human." Sesshoumaru suddenly and unexpectedly joinded the conversation. "The one you call Kurama."

  


"That was just his human form," Sango explained. She watched Sesshoumaru blink at her before he resumed staring at the well.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Eeeep!" Boton clutched the back of Inuyasha's shirt with all her strength.

  


"I can't believe you left Kagome!" The Youkai in front of them was yelling. "What the hell is wrong with you, dog-turd!?"

  


"Shut up, wimpy wolf!" Inuyasha shoved Boton further back and drew the Tetsuseiga.

  


"What did you do to my woman!" Kouga yelled.

  


"She's not your woman!"

  


"You never claimed her!"

  


"Neither have you so shut your damned mouth!"

  


"Actually I think Kurama claimed her." Boton clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.

  


"WHAT!?"

  


Boton thought briefly of running away but she had seen the speed that the wolf had come roaring in with. She knew she couldn't get away...

  


"Who's Kurama?" the wolf asked in a dangerous voice.

  


"He's a kitsune."

  


"A fox? You lost Kagome to a Fox?"

  


"Boton, what do you mean he's claimed her?" Inuyasha demanded, forgetting the wolf.

  


"Well, he hasn't really yet. But he likes her."

  


"He can't have her!" Kouga yelled. "She's mine!"

  


"Shut up." Inuyasha snarled. "Boton?"

  


"Ummm..."

  


"Does she really like that girly boy?"

  


"Kurama is not girly!" she defended her friend.

  


"Feh!"

  


"Girly?" Kouga sniffed.

  


"He may be beautiful, but he's not girly." she insisted.

  


"Beautiful?" Kouga echoed.

  


"Boton?" Inuyasha let the warning growl out.

  


"Uh, I know she likes him some...but Kurama's hard to deny. I mean, who would really say no to a four hundred year old silver fox?"

  


"Silver...fox?" Kouga repeated.

  


"Feh! That dumb fox can't be no four hundred years old. He's no older then me. And _you_ told him no...didn't you?" Inuyasha stood up straighter. 

  


"Of course not! I mean, I never had to! He never liked me...or I never liked him like that!" she knew she sounded desperate, but god! How did she end up defending her own honor here?

  


"Keh!"

  


"Kagome met a silver fox? An experienced silver fox..." Kouga's face fell. "Aww, damn..."

  


"You lost her too." Inuyasha watched the dispirited wolf carefully. The last thing he needed was the wolf to think that now that Kagome was...occupied....that his new companion was fair game. Boton hid behind Inuyasha's broad back.

  


"Yeah I hear."

  


Boton watched them with care from over Inuyasha's left shoulder. She knew the reputation of a silver fox. She also knew the reputation of this particular silver fox. These guys didn't stand a chance if Kurama really decided to turn on the charm with the human girl. _I wonder what he has done about his feeling for her...did he tell her yet? _Boton sighed. _I wish he was here now so he could tell me what to do about Inuaysha..._

  


"It's better then you," Kouga sighed. "At least it must be someone worthy of her this time."

  


"What!? You stupid wolf!"

  


Kouga kicked up dust at the dog and left.

  


"Wow."

  


"That was Kouga," Inuyasha said, sheathing his sword.

  


Boton nodded. So far, they hadn't found any sign of Kikyo, but that didn't mean that they didn't have any adventures.

  


"Kagome and Kurama, huh?"

  


"I guess so..."

  


"I'm not really surprised. I could see it the minute I met him," Inuyasha sniffed. "I could smell it."

  


"Smell it?" Boton she realized that she had picked up the echo that Kouga had left behind.

  


"Yeah. I could smell the attraction between them."

  


"You could smell that he liked her?" Boton looked worried.

  


"Of course. I have an excellent nose..." he said pointing at his face.

  


_Does that mean that he can smell that I-_she pinned him down with her pink eyes and hoped she was wrong. He was smiling at her..._Oh, cute!...wait...uh-oh._

  


"Come on. We've gotta keep looking." He took pity on her and picked a direction.

  


Boton pulled out her oar and followed him, at a respectful distance of course!

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Yusuke! Snap out of it!" Kuwabara waved a large hand in front of his friends face. "Think of Keiko! Damn it, Urameshi!"

  


"Oh, come on, Kuwabara. I'm not spell bound. But hell, I can still look."

  


Kuwabara looked at the four women trying desperately to entice them closer. Incredibly hot women were rare...four in one place was really rare. That's how the two spirit detectives assumed they had found the demon women...plus, there were various businessmen scattered in piles around the mouth of the alley. The energy they were giving of was tiny, but potent in it's own way.

  


"Oooh!"

  


"Fresh meat!"

  


"They grow up so young now..."

  


"Come here, boy!"

  


"Eeew," Kuwabara answered sourly. 

  


"So innocent!" a blond gushed.

  


"At least one of them, anyway..." A red head smiled, showing fangs.

  


"Mmm...come here!" a brunette purred. "Let us have your soul!"

  


"Please?" the blond pouted.

  


Yusuke took a step forward with a smile on his face. Kuwabara grabbed his arm and yelled. "What are you thinking?"

  


"They are just women, Kuwabara," Yusuke continued smiling.

  


"Yeah, women with big..." he put his hands up and made a squeezing motion "...yeah," he finished lamely.

  


"See? They really aren't all that pretty," Yusuke continued.

  


"Hey!" the brunette stopped cooing.

  


"So is this how they draw men in?" Kuwabara glared a the busty women. 

  


"Seems to work..." Yusuke pointed at several unconscious men in the alley.

  


"Weak. No honor." Kuwabara sighed.

  


"What the hell?!" the red head lost her pout.

  


"Really pitiful. A real man would never give in to..." he brought his hands back up to illustrate.

  


"You-" the blond hissed.

  


"Ooh, Men!" the previously silent girl with green hair growled.

  


"I think you pissed them off," Yusuke said conversationally.

  


"Uh, yeah..." the taller boy hesitated.

  


The four woman were advancing, their eyes glowing red, breasts bouncing with each step.

  


"Might not have been the best idea..." Yusuke was still smiling.

  


"Maybe."

  


"Ladies..." the blond warned. "This one's mine."

  


Yusuke just kept smiling...

  


******************************************************************************

  


hehehehe!

That last bit was inspired by a few sorority girls in my 3-D art class that frequently alternate between luring new boyfriends to them only to complain about the chauvinistic attitude that is almost a requirement for frat. boys! They talk all the time like that and strangely enough, they do travel in packs...scarey! 

  


I also think they are quite deadly in their own way....(shudders.) Thank god I'm attached...I'd hate to be in their way if they found new prey!

  


That is the last chapter written in the second notebook! I have a few more chapters in a third...but things will be slowing down soon...

  


On to reviews!

  


Thanks to:

ixi, Ai Higeki, Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe, The Black Kat, Helen, Artemis the Goddess, Dee-chan, Kuro Eien Hayabusa, badgerwolf, Illustrious Sorrow, Inu Youkai-Hime, ShuiJadeDragon, ForestSprite, Gryphnwng, LaLoba, watergoddesskasey, HeavenlyAnimeAngel-Amaterasu, Sesshomaru13, DemonLady1, ^.^, shiningcrystal, Dark Maiden1, Shinigami Clara, Simply Hopless, Sukera, Star Silver fox, Elyndewen Startree, Dark Topaz, flare2, ladyofthedragons1, Lady of Chaos 2005, Kinky Usagi, E-100 Alpha, Rinaanne45, Diaphanous, Lost Anime Angel, SoulofSaturn, BookwormRose296, SilentDusk, Ladyarilyia, Sara Lee (Yabou) Neo-Crystal, InuBabe, Hinoke, and sparkz and those of you that reviewed more than once...thanks a second time!

  


Uh....Thank you everyone for inspiring me to keep typing this monster! I couldn't believe that I got over 45 reviews for these last three chapters! I don't have room to thank every one separately this time or the space! But, you know who you are! A few of you had comments or concerns that I will address here however!

  


The story is still going...never fear! Our fav. Demon lord has a purpose but I will get to that! Be patient! Sorry no lemon! I'm such a wus! I noticed by reading the reviews that there are a lot of new youko fans...I wonder if I started something! ^.~ I won't complain to see more Youko fics out there...hint hint...nudge nudge...Don't worry, Kagome will eventually put one and one together and get three....(Shuuichi+Youko=Kurama) hehehehe! Those of you that I have inspired to write, DO IT! Another good fic is always welcome! Those of you who read this in one sitting...0.o good god! I didn't even have the patience for that and I'm writing it! Wow! Props to you! And those of you I need to give a long response too, I'll e-mail you! As soon as I get this posted!

  


Kinky! I have news!

  


I am so hyper right now! This is going so well!

  


Till next time...

  


Sylvannastar (Forest of Stars)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	35. Promises

Hello again...next, uh, two chapters...only two? Gasp! I'm slipping! Must write more...

  


Promises

********

  


"Where are we?"

  


"Close."

  


"It's that way," Kagome pointed to the left.

  


Hiei blinked at her. "The lake is that way," he pointed to a path that led to the right.

  


"But the demons aren't at the lake. They're over there."

  


"Idiot. Why would water dragon demons be in the woods?"

  


Kagome stared at him. "I don't know.. Let's go ask them." she promptly took the left path.

  


Hiei clenched his jaw and glared at Kurama. "You let her come. You talk sense into her."

  


"She may be right."

  


"Hn. If we can't trace their energy, I doubt she can either," Hiei answered.

  


"Kagome!" Kurama called out to her. She paused and let them catch up. "What makes you think they are this way? Can you sense them?"

  


"No."

  


"Hn," Hiei snorted.

  


"But there are birds and squirrels and things over there. Over here, there is nothing. Koenma said everything was dead, so..."

  


"You're following the empty places."

  


"Yeah. Something like that." she pushed a branch out of her way. "I wonder why they got so violent."

  


"Kagome, when we get there, I want you to stay out of the way."

  


"I can fight!" she protested.

  


"The fox is right," Hiei agreed. "This is different. The male won't be able to do anything but fight. It won't feel pain. It won't recognize danger. It won't spare you."

  


Kagome sighed, "It's like when Inuyasha's blood was too strong for his body, isn't it?"

  


"Yes."

  


"I'll stay back."

  


"Thank you," Kurama touched her arm gently.

  


"But I can still shoot my arrows at it. I don't have to be close to help."

  


Kurama dropped his head, trying to keep his patience. He didn't want her anywhere near danger. He wanted her safe and he wanted her to be there for him when he was finished fighting. He need her to be there when he needed her near, which he had to admit was becoming more and more frequent. He also didn't want her out of his sight, which was the only reason he had allowed her to come in the first place. He need to protect her from danger, to keep her safe, and free from any harm. It was a confusing tangle of conflicting needs that drove him when he was with her.

  


_With her...that just sounds so right. I can't lose you now...not when I've never even told you yet that I want you to stay with me. I want to tell you..._

  


He brought his other hand up to her other shoulder and leaned in until he was resting his forehead on hers. "Kagome..."

  


"Y-yes?"

  


"Please, stay out of the fight. Please?"

  


"But I-"

  


"Please?"

  


Kagome peeked up at him through long lashes."I-" his eyes were vivid liquid jewels. She swallowed shortly, "Okay. I'll stay back." She couldn't deny him.

  


"Thank you."

  


"Hn."

  


Kurama released her slowly and followed the path to the left. Kagome stood where he had left her, pale and sad. Hiei stopped beside her, concerned but not showing it. Her aura had shifted so suddenly and grew darker and heavier around her, he was surprised to see her attempt to smile at him at all . She raised her blue eyes to his red ones.__

  


"I'm not useless."

  


"I know."

  


"I...I could have helped. I could have..." Kagome turned away from Hiei and stumbled along the path that led in the other direction from the one Kurama had taken.

  


"Kagome," Hiei's deep voice cut through her thoughts. "He didn't mean-"

  


"I know what he meant." Kagome said sharply. "Just like Inuyasha. Only Kurama is more polite," she sucked in a soft sob and took a trail farther to the right. "Don't worry. I'll stay out of your way, Hiei."

  


"Kagome, it's not-"

  


"Forget it." she cut him off again. She didn't want for him to see her cry so she increased her pace. "If you don't hurry, Kurama will be fighting alone. I know how weak I am. I've heard it all before, so spare me the lecture," she walked away, refusing to all out run.

  


Hiei glanced at her retreating back. "No, you don't understand," he said softly. _You are one of the strongest people I know. That stupid fox just doesn't know how to tell you how important you've become...to all of us. _Hiei knew that she hadn't heard him, but she was right. His place was with Kurama at the moment. He was a warrior and there was a battle to win.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"I'm not a fighter!" Boton screamed and ran away from the blue oni as fast as she could. "Fight him!" she yelled pointing at Inuyasha's battle ready figure.

  


He twitched his ears at her in disbelief. The woman had no shame. "Don't worry Boton. I'll protect you." _I gotta quit saying that. It's brought nothing but trouble. But...she may actually let me..._

  


Kagome and Kikyo were both too strong willed to believe he meant it when he promised to save them from harm.They tended to cause more trouble then they avoided. Boton seemed perfectly willing to rely on his strength. And he realized how much that meant to him. Inuyasha needed to be needed. His biggest strength was his determination to protect those he cared about. Kagome and Kikyo were both too powerful in their own way to truly need him. They were as determined to stand on their own two feet as he was to help them. They both gave and took away his purpose when any battle began. Boton was...different. She did need his strength.

  


The oni grunted and resumed his clumsy chase of the blue haired girl in the pink kimono.

  


"Over here, Stupid! Your fight is with me!" Inuyasha yelled. The oni roared and turned toward him, but unfortunately, so did Boton.

  


"Help!" she shouted.

  


Inuyasha watched as a tree crashed down dangerously close to the girl and felt his insides burning with a new strength. He growled and leapt up toward the monster. "I won't forgive you!" he shouted and swung his sword over his head. "Boton, get out of the way!"

  


"Yes!" she ran on, hiding herself behind a large boulder. As soon as she was out of danger, Inuyasha prepared to use the wound of the wind. The oni, losing sight of its prey, faced the hanyou and swung a massive fist.

  


Inuyasha easily dodged this and waited for his youki to crash into the oni's. There it was. "Kazi no Kizu!" 

  


The monster was ripped into shreds, spaying bits of gore and flesh over the forest. A silence replaced the angry roar of the monster and Boton peaked out.

  


Inuyasha stood there, sword slung over one shoulder casually. The sun sparkled on his pale hair and haloed his features.

  


"Keh! Pathetic creature."

  


"Thank you!" she ran up to him and hugged him. "Thank you! You are so strong! You defeated him so easily!" she gushed.

  


"Uh...Feh! He was nothing. I've fought much stronger monsters then that." he blushed. _But none with so satisfying a result..._

  


"Still, I would not have been able to beat him. Thank you!" she repeated and tightened her arms around his waist once before letting go.

  


"It was nothing," he grumbled, insisting. In truth, he felt like he was on top of the world!

  


"Oh, now, don't give the girl the wrong idea," a new voice interrupted them. "Inuyasha always liked to play the hero."

  


Boton's eyes widened when she saw the speaker. Inuyasha tensed and forgot his earlier elation. "Kikyo," he greeted in an empty voice. "I've been looking for you."

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Urameshi! I can't hit a girl!" Kuwabara stiffened.

  


"Then kick them instead."

  


The blond launched herself at them, screaming in a high pitched voice. "Chauvinistic Pig!" she screeched.

  


"Huh?"

  


"Save it, Yuki," The red head sneered. "He's obviously too stupid to understand such big words."

  


"Hey!"

  


"Arrggh!" she reached up to pull the big oaf's hair. "I'll kill you!"

  


"Not like that, you won't," Yusuke laughed.

  


"Beast!" the green haired woman snarled. The other three quickly surrounded him. Yusuke looked on, amused.

  


"What are you gonna do now? Scratch me?" he taunted.

  


The brunette hissed at him. "Exactly."

  


The three woman, eyes glowing red, merged together into one. Yusuke blinked and lost his smile. The creature in front of him was both big and entirely ugly. It was also very lopsided.

One arm and leg were about half the size of the other and it's neck muscles were strangely inferior in strength on one side giving the monster a comical inquisitive look. 

  


"Yuki!" it snarled. The blond let go of Kuwabara's hair and joined her sisters. She merged into them, straightening the demon out. It was still ugly, just not as deformed looking now.

  


"Huh. Neat trick." Yusuke narrowed his eyes. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder what it would look like if Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara and himself merged like that...then he shook himself, shuddering at the picture that implanted in his mind.

  


That he wasn't paying attention was obvious to the demoness...or demonesses...and was beginning to infuriate them farther. It lifted it's massive hands, displaying razor sharp claws and gave a rather toothy grin. "Now I'll have you!"

  


"Sorry. I'm taken." Yusuke pointed a finger distractedly at the charging demon. "Spirit gun."

  


"Urameshi! How could you?! They were just girls!"

  


"You and your stupid honor code. Didn't you see that thing?"

  


"...ahhh..."

  


"Never mind. That was too easy. Why can't something some thing strong ever get through the barrier?"

  
  


******************************************************************************

  


"Ahhh! Yusuke watch what you say!" Koenma pulled his pacifier out long enough to yell at his screen in his office.

  


"I don't think he can hear you."

  


"I _know_ that!" Koenma pouted.

  


"Then why-"

  


"Because it makes me feel better, ogre!"

  


"Yes, sir."

  


_This just keeps getting worse and worse. How do I fix something when no one knows how it works to begin with? _Koenma dropped his head to his desk. He pressed his face down on a pile of papers and his forgotten stamp pad. _Why can't we find any record about the making of the barrier? What is it? Where did it come from? There is nothing...nothing about it at all except the consequences of it's appearance. _

  


"Is it really so bad, Koenma-sir?" George asked.

  


"Yeah, George. It is," he told the desk intimately. "Even Dad is worried."

  


"King Enma?!" The blue ogre jumped back in fear.

  


"No, my other father." Koenma looked up and glared. "Of course King Enma!"

  


"Ah, yes sir!"

  


A quick knock on the door announced the arrival of more paper work. Koenma sighed and resumed his official stamping. Things still had to get done or he'd just be adding to the problem.

  


Stamp.

  


Stamp.

  


Stamp.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome followed a narrow deer trail up a steep incline, continuously walking away from a battle she had promised not to join. It opened up on a rocky outcrop overlooking the lack.

  


Kagome sighed, sat near the ledge, and hugged her knees to her chest. Alone now, she felt the warm trickle of tears over her cheeks.

  


The sun reflected on the little waves in the water, dancing beams across the surface. The wind blew gently in the large trees clothed in green leaves. Wild flowers sprung between every crack in the rocky ground, gracing the other wise barren ground. But, Kagome didn't seem to see them.

  


She was watching a small spot of shore at a small inlet that curved inland. There, a red and a black speck of color were darting in and around the visible figure of a silverish dragon. From where Kagome sat, the figures were so distant they lost all detail and became like that of a half-remembered dream.

  


_That's all it was from the start anyway...a dream. _Kagome buried her head in her arms, and sobbed aloud. Her now useless bow and arrows sat forgotten beside her_. _It seems, when you are told something often enough, you begin to believe it...

  


She looked like a beautiful picture of a broken warrior..sad and alone. A weapon she had promised not to use and a broken spirit her only companions in a world turned against her.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	36. Interruptions

A/N and reviewer responses after the chapter!

  


Interruptions

**********

  


"Hiei! Do not!"

  


"Why not?" Hiei flexed his bandaged arm, fingering he wrappings.

  


"Koenma told us before, 'be discreet.' The Dragon of Darkness is _not_ discreet."

  


"Fine. But it would be faster."

  


"I thought that you would savor a good fight." 

  


"There are other things to think about this time."

  


"Such as?" Kurama pulled a seed from his hair and prepared to meet the demons they were sent to destroy.

  


"Kagome."

  


Kurama looked around them quickly. "She promised to stay back!"

  


"She will."

  


Kurama blinked his green eyes at Hiei. "Are you saying she's still in danger?" he growled. "That I made the wrong decision?" 

  


Hiei said nothing. If the fox couldn't see...

  


"Hiei!" Kurama barked impatiently.

  


"It comes."

  


Something large cut through the water with great speed, it's ability to swim unhampered by the weed choked water of the living realm. For a dragon, it greatly resembled a fish. It's wedge shaped head was attached to various fins and whiskers that lashed out like long bull whips. It roared and flung itself to shore, using its stubby legs to close the distance between it and the intruders. It's ungainly hop and waddle was in complete opposition to the grace that it had in the water.

  


"I'll destroy this one," Hiei announced. "You get the other."

  


"Is that wise, Hiei?"

  


"I do not need your help."

  


"No, I don't suppose you do." Kurama waited for the second head to break from the water and transformed his whip to lash back at the gaping maw that the creature presented.

  


His whip snapped out in perfect precision and danced around the creature's head twice before the beast could dodge.

  


Snap! 

  


Snap!

  


It roared in pain and dunked under the water, now murky from the churning bodies and legs of the demon monsters. It was quickly followed by the male, dripping blood from numerous sword strikes.

  


"Here they come."

  


"Hn."

  


Snap!

  


Shing!

  


Roar!

  


The process repeated itself several more times before Hiei snarled, "Enough! I have better things to do then this." He threw his sword down and glared at the deceptively still water. It began to boil along with Hiei's temper and sure enough, the beasts sprang up from the water, escaping the heat.

  


They slashed and hissed, their escape finally cut off from them. Hiei quickly removed the head from the smaller male and was satisfied when the beast gave its final twitch.

  


Kurama snapped his whip twice more, taking the second dragon down, though a bit more elegantly then his friend. He sighed and retracted his energy from the whip, holding instead, a blood red rose. "We can't leave the bodies here to be found."

  


Hiei flicked the blood from his sword and gave the carcasses one long look before they burst into flames. "They won't be found."

  


"No." Kurama agreed. "They won't at that. Let us retrieve Kagome, then."

  


"You really messed up again, you know," Hiei muttered.

  


"What?" Kurama's voice was sharp.

  


"With the girl." That was the extent of Hiei's clarification skills. "You are dooming this relationship before it even starts."

  


Kurama felt a muscle in his jaw twitch. "Explain," he demanded.

  


"Honesty, Kurama. And honor." Hiei said. "You are using neither when it comes to her."

  


"Stay out of it, Hiei. I'll tell her when the time is right," Kurama growled.

  


"Like you told your mother?" Hiei's crimson eyes never wavered from Kurama's tense back. "Don't wait too long, Kurama. The girl is under no obligation to either forgive you or love you back."

  


"I know..." Kurama whispered. "I know."

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome saw the sudden flames far below her and wiped her eyes. Strangely enough, their victory seemed hollow...meaningless. _Stupid girl...you are the one projecting that... _she said to herself. _Am I really so useless? _She ran a finger over the pointed end of one of her arrows, deep in thought. _No. I am not!_ "I will be stronger. I won't despair. There is always hope..." 

  


Kagome pricked her finger absently on the sharp weapon. She tucked her finger in her mouth and glared at the object as if it had willed her to do it. "Stupid arrow."

  


She pulled herself up, gathered her things, and slowly made her way down the path she had walked. _I'll be whole again some day. Kikyo won't hold a part of me forever._ Kagome reached the end of the path and calmly waited for Hiei and Kurama to join her. She could feel them coming, both energies were strong and unwavering...neither was hurt.

  


When her friends came around the brush and into open view, she couldn't stop her hungry eyes from checking them for wounds anyway.

  


Kurama immediately smiled at the beautiful girl standing in the path. It took a moment for it to sink in that she was not smiling back. Nor would she meet his eyes. She simply turned, and began the long walk back to the open road, where she could then find her way back home. Kurama stood in the middle of the path, haunted by Hiei's words and Kagome's silent retreat.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Sango pulled her weapon out of the tree trunk it had been imbedded in. _I'm getting slow._ She straightened and swung the massive boomerang at another tree. This one fell with a satisfying thud. _Better...but not good enough._

  


"Sango?"

  


"What?"

  


"What are you doing?"

  


"Preparing, Houshi."

  


"..."

  


Sango wiped a hand across er damp forehead and rubbed her eyes. "I can feel Naraku watching us."

  


"I know."

  


"You know?!" she became angry. "How can you stay so calm? With all the things he's done to us, how can you?"

  


Miroku clenched his teeth but kept his outward calm. Sango needed his strength, not his panic. "We'll defeat him, Sango. We'll win because we have to. There is no other choice for us. I'm calm because I know this."

  


Sango hung her head, dark hair curtaining her features. "Do you really believe that?"

  


"Completely."

  


"Miroku?"

  


Sango hardly ever called him by his name. It made his stare at her hard before he answered. "Yes?"

  


"What will you do? When this is all over, I mean?" Sango held her breath, waiting for his answer. She knew Kagome had another life, Shippo with her if possible. And Inuyasha...his plan was plain enough. Sango was afraid she'd be alone. If she lost her brother, she would have no one but Kirara...and she did not want to be alone.

  


"I'll move on." Miroku answered. "I'll live the rest of my life with what gladness I can. When Naraku is gone, I want him to _be_ gone; from my mind, from my future. I won't have his shadow over my family."

  


"Family? You would start a family?"

  


"Of course! Isn't that what you would want to do as well?" he asked carefully.

  


"No. I couldn't hope for so much. I'm too old."

  


"What!?" Miroku laughed.

  


Sango smacked him in the back of the head with her boomerang. "Quit laughing, Houshi. Most women my age already have three or four kids. No man will be wanting a new wife my age." Sango stalked away with Miroku hot on her heels.

  


"I want you, Sango." he reached out and-

  


SMACK!

  


"Hentai!"

  


Sango left him in the dirt and followed the path back to the well. She was angry on the outside, but inside, the outrage was false, to cover for the deepening bond she felt for the monk. She was secretly pleased that he found her attractive, and displayed his amorous nature so openly. She just had to keep reminding herself that he was that way with any reasonably attractive female of the right age..._I'd be foolish to place my hopes on him._ But his words, though not spoken seriously, ran through her mind._ 'I want you, Sango.'_

  
  


What she didn't know, was that Miroku had been serious. With Sango, he had always been serious.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kurama left Kagome alone the next day at school. It was the last day of finals and he knew she had enough distractions. It didn't keep his mind from replaying the past events, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong.

  


_What did I do? What pushed her away? Why is she so distant? _Kurama easily finished his tests and used the left over time to think about, or watch over the dark haired girl that had captured all of him so effortlessly. _She is right here, but it feels like she's so far away from me...and it hurts...Kagome, come back to me._

  


He found himself remembering something that she had told him before. She had been talking about Inuyasha and love. She had said "I would give my own life to keep him safe. Turn my back on everything I strive for to see him genuinely smile." Didn't she realize that he felt the same way for her? _Have I lost your smile Kagome, with my dishonesty? _

  


Kurama played with the ends of his hair, waiting patiently for the bell to ring, and school to end for the term. He would be finished, graduation was in three more days. And he didn't know what he would do, or where he would go. _College? Too far away from her. The Makai? No. She wouldn't be there either. _He had lost his desire to go anywhere. _"Turn y back on everything I strive for..."_

  


Kurama felt a soft tug on his hair and looked behind him. Kagome had slid into the desk, forfeiting her usual spot next to him. She gave him a soft sad smile and ran her hands almost lovingly over the long silky strands of hair.

  


The heavy weight in his chest instantly vanished and he leaned into her touch. School was almost out, and then they could talk. Another quote filtered through his jumbled thoughts...This time it was a fraction of the poem that Kagome had once recited to them..._can you risk looking like a fool for love? _Kurama finally decided he had things to tell her. Important things that had been secret too long.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome sighed and twisted her fingers in Kurama's long hair. _I can't stay angry with him. _She felt him lean back, into her hands. She couldn't keep the sad smile from touching her face. She leaned forward, to whisper in his ear. "Shuuichi," she said, mindful that they were still in school. "I'm sorry."

  


Kurama couldn't stop himself. He turned around in his seat so he could look at her. "Sorry? For what, Kagome?"

  


"I-"

  


"Minamino-san," the teacher's voice was properly shocked. Never had he, or any other teacher had to reprimand the quiet student.

  


Kurama turned back around and resisted the urge to glare at the human for interrupting him. He relaxed only when he felt Kagome's soft touch on his hair again, and heard her soft giggle.

  


The rhythmic tug and pull of her fingers had him relaxing to the point that even the tension in his mind melted away. There was no Youko, no Shuuichi, just Kurama who, for once, felt complete. But, the calm couldn't last.

  


The bell rang loudly, signaling the end of school and the beginning of summer break, and Shuuichi Minamino's completion of public school.

  


_Damn, _Youko and Shuuichi's voices were oddly overlapped, in that moment that he faced the end of an entire period of his life.

  


Kagome stopped her petting, and rose to her feet. She was going back to the past today, and she didn't want to leave things so stressed between her and Kurama.

  


She didn't know how he felt about her, but she couldn't stand letting things continue the way they had been these last two days. The classroom emptied around them, and strangely enough, the teacher was the first one out of the door.

  


Blue eyes connected with green and everything else seemed to fall away from them. It was as if time had stopped and was giving them this moment to truly communicate to one another.

  


"Kagome, I-"

  


RING! RING! RING!

  


Two pairs of confused eyes looked down to the source of the blaring noise. Kurama pulled Yusuke's communicator from his back pocket and blinked at it. It's insistent tone's conveyed a sense of urgency that Kurama found himself automatically opening it.

  


"Yusuke! Oh, Kurama, I need you guys, here! Now!" Koenma roared. Then he was gone.

  


"Hmm. Sounds important," Kagome said.

  


"Indeed." he glared at the object before turning his attention back to the beautiful girl. "Kagome, I..." he searched for just the right words and found that they were not there this time.

  


_Damn it, Shuuichi! This is your department. Quit slacking! _Youko mouthed off.

  


Before he could say anything more, kagome took his hand and led him out of the room. "I understand," she said. "You have to go...and so do I." I don't know how long I'll be gone, this time...."

  


Kurama frowned at the ground.

  


Kagome stopped and took a moment to try to memorize his features. They stood in the deserted hallway like that for what seemed like forever, both trying to find just the right way to express what they felt to the other.

  


"But, I just..." Kagome swallowed and gathered her courage. "Just be careful, while I'm gone."

  


A soft smile touched his lips. "You too..." _Though I don't want you to go..How can I protect you if you are so far away?_

  


RING! RING! RING!

  


Kurama clenched his fist over the devise, ignoring it for the moment. Kagome suddenly gave him a brilliant smile, leaned up and brushed her lips over his. Kurama didn't move. He couldn't move.

  


"Bye..." she let go of his other hand and with her face burning, ran from the building. She passed Yusuke and Kuwabara at the gate and yelled as she ran. "Bye guys! I'll see you when I get back! Oh, you have a mission!"

  


"How would she know that?" Yusuke wondered. Kurama suddenly appeared beside them and handed the ringing contraption to Yusuke. "Oh."

  


******************************************************************************

  


On to AN and reviews!

  


I know. I know. Only two chapters this time...sorry. I'll do better! Notes...um...Yes, Kagome finds out about Youko..but not yet! MWHahahahaha...sorry. Yes..Kagome and the barrier are linked...but I'm not telling how! When do the characters get together?...soon...hehehe. Boton and Inu was pure inspiration from Kami knows where...Sesshoumaru waits because he knows what he wants, He is not one to be distracted when he's after something. At the moment, he want's Naraku dead. Kagome is his best weapon and the best bait. Is Inu a closet Hentai? He's male. Of course he is! I still have 21 more chapters to write and post. I'm on the third notebook now...I'm catching up quickly to what's written. Expect things to slow! 

  


I had some new reviewers...*blushes* very enthusiastic ones. Makes me happy!

  


Thank you every one for the encouragement. I'll definitely keep writing.

Thank you to

  


Katzztar, ladyofthedragons1, tarah, BookwormRose296, deathlycrimson, BabbleQueen, Kinky Usagi, The Beauty of night, Artemis the Goddess, InuBabe, Dark Topaz, Sekera, heavenlyAnimeAngel-Amaterasu, DemonLady1, Hikari, ixi, hiei is mine forever, ANAme-Chan, Inu Youkai-Hime, Elyndewen Startree, Helen, Hinoke, Diaphanous, LadyArilyia, Dee-Chan, Adrelliehs, ChildlikeMoonTenchi, tessa3, Hebi Youkai, and the following that I caught on my stats page but I did not get an alert for in my e-mail Shinigami Clara, Lost Anime Angel, SoulofSaturn, badgerwolf, and BlackTora (for all 7 of your reviews lol)

  
  
  
  



	37. A Demon Lord's Intentions

I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

  


There are FIVE chapters updated this time...gee, my fingers hurt...well, here they are!

And, reviewer responses are at the end of the last updated chapter again!

Thanks for reading this far and sticking with me!

  


A Demon Lord's Intentions

**********************

  


As soon as the well lit up, Sesshoumaru was peering into it. Kagome's scent, unlike any other human he ever had the displeasure to smell was oddly nice and wafted up to him. Her purifying energy, however, made his skin itch.

  


She clambered up the ladder shaped vines and came nose to nose with the dog demon before she knew he was there. She promptly lost her grip, and landed on her rear end on the hard packed ground of modern Tokyo. She glared at the top of the well as if he was there instead of five hundred years in the past.

  


She climbed to her feet, rubbed her backside, jumped off the second rung of the wooden ladder, and reappeared in the past. She glared up again, and this time, he was there to see it. "Jerk!" she muttered. 

  


He raised one pale eyebrow in response but waited for her to emerge before he spoke. "Miko-"

  


"Kagome. Ka-Go-Me, remember?" 

  


He sighed and examined the human girl. It was hard to believe that this frail ningen was his best weapon against the troublesome Naraku. He had thought hard about the best ways to defeat the demon hanyou spider, and always, his mind returned to this girl. 

  


She had stood against him enough times to prove her courage and her ability to withstand tense situations. He had tried to kill her himself a few times which he now regretted. Her spirit was unbreakable and her optimism and faith had the power to change the tainted souls of others. In truth, he knew of no other with the powers this human girl possessed. He believed that she was the key to ending this battle for both his beloved western lands and the threat that now stalked him and his people...including Rin. 

  


Naraku had resorted to kidnaping and using children before. Rin had been taken but retrieved before any true harm had befallen her. Had she been injured in any way, Sesshoumaru would not have been able to stop from giving in to his demon rage and killing any in his way mercilessly. Rin had become the most important thing in his life...even above his love for his land and responsibility to them. How the human child had worked her way into the heart he thought he had hidden away was still a mystery to him, but, his love for the girl was as intense as any parent would feel for one of their own flesh and blood kin. 

  


Weeks ago, when he had discovered Inuyasha's miko...no, she belonged to no one but herself. She was too strong to be anyone's possession. The human miko, Kagome, had shown him that Rin was not the only one of her species to impact his life. Every encounter that he had with her in previous battles had started to grow into a deep respect for her and her companions. 

  


Not only had they withstood all the events that they had both knowingly and unwittingly been subjected to, they also grew stronger and learned to make their weaknesses into their strengths.

  


Sesshoumaru had never experienced the resilience of the human spirit before, and this example of the adaptability and courage of these simple mortals, changed how he saw both the world around him and himself. Though he was himself a demon, he had come to understand why a mortal had the strength inside them to continue on when they knew that everything was against them. Time, decay, weak bodies that heal so slowly, disease, and being subjected to the whims of creatures stronger then themselves, like himself, and they still found reason to fight, to hope and to live to the best of their ability. 

  


Humans were strange creatures. He did not believe that they were stronger then he was, but rather that they held a different kind of strength that had nothing to do with the physical or mental capacities. Kagome had taught him why he felt so strongly for Rin and so enabled him to open himself up and love the child like she deserved to be, and that was a gift he did not think he could ever return. 

  


But, on the heels of love, comes betrayal, sadness, grief, and loss. One day, time would take Rin from him if some other force did not steal her away first. But, when he considered what his life would be like now, he could not imagine what it would be like without her in it. Even if he had to face her eventual death, he had her for now. And, like any creature that understands that fate and mortality is a part of a cycle of life, he knew that every moment he had with this human was one to cherish and one he would remember until the day he himself passed into the next world.

  


It was in two days that he had seen the woman child interacting and loving his Rin so openly and with such sincerity that he found he wanted that truth between himself and his adoptive daughter.

Just by being who she was, Kagome had influenced him to the extent that he wanted nothing but the best for his child. 

  


And the best was a world free of Naraku's taint. Apart from his vendetta against Naraku for his continued interference in his life, for his insulting display against the dog demon lord, and the blow to his pride from when he tried to trick, trap, and consume him, there was now the future of a little human child that he considered to be of upmost importance. He would do anything with in his power to give her the safest environment to grow and prosper in.

  


So now, he found himself staring at a frail human woman, wondering how life could take such twists and turns and still make some sort of mad sense. He knew that she had a power that could help make his Rin's world safer. 

  


Sesshoumaru knew that he would never regret this alliance, if she chose to accept him in their midst. It was the Miko's decision. She would be the one in the most danger if Naraku were to strike again.

  


He stood back to watch the interaction that she had with the other members of her group.

  


"Where is Inuyasha?" she asked, looking around, oblivious to the deep thoughts plaguing the mind of the demon standing next to her.

  


"He's looking for Kikyo," Miroku came up behind her. He flung up his arms, waiting for her to start wailing and run to him for comfort.

  


"Still? It's been three days," she merely sounded surprised.

  


The monk sighed and lowered his arms.

  


"Good try." Sango tapped her foot impatiently behind him.

  


"Ah ha ha ha..." he ducked and moved away.

  


"Kagome!" Shippo jumped in front of the demon lord and into her arms.

  


"Hey, Shippo!"

  


"We missed you!"

  


"I missed you guys too," she assured him.

  


"Get back here, you human brat!" a screechy voice yelled. Kagome winced at the sound. _Jaken...Oh, yeah! I need to find out what he meant about me losing Sesshoumaru...speaking of which, why is Sesshoumaru here? Inuyasha never told me..._Jaken ran past with Rin two steps ahead of him, giggling madly. She was holding the ugly staff of heads above her own head, running, and trying desperately to tuck handfuls of flowers into whatever nooks and crevices could hold them. "Awwk! Stop that!" _Still, it was kind of nice to know that some things never change...no matter how many centuries go by..._

  


She decided to voice that thought out loud, thinking that perhaps she could get some answers. "You know, it's kind of gratifying, is some perverse way, to know Jaken will always be this annoying."

  


"What do you mean, lady Kagome?" Miroku took the bait and opened up the conversation. "Have you seen Jaken in your home?" he asked.

  


"Something like that. We caught him wandering around a few days ago."

  


Sesshoumaru tried to puzzle this out. "Jaken has been here, as he was told to be," he watched the miko intently.

  


She merely nodded and waved off his comment.

  


He decided to try again. "He could not be in two places at the same time," he insisted in his dead pan voice.

  


"Precisely." she answered.

  


"Kagome is from the future," Sango explained.

  


Sesshoumaru though this over and accepted the hastily made explanation as truth. It explained much about the girl and her odd habits. "How far?"

  


"About five hundred years..." Kagome answered him. The pale brow rose again. "Sesshoumaru, for what reasons would you ever leave Jaken behind?" she asked carefully. She watched his eyes narrow as he turned the muted gold depths to the toad youkia.

  


"Disloyalty," he said in a hard voice.

  


"That wasn't it."

  


"Maybe you died," Shippo announced. He squeaked and firmly attached himself to Kagome's shoulders when the demon lord looked his way.

  


"I don't think so, Shippo. Jaken made it sound as if Sesshoumaru chose to leave him."

  


"There is something else, isn't there?" Miroku watched her face expectantly.

  
  


"Yeah..." she twisted her fingers together in that awkward silence that followed. She sighed and decided to spit it out and get it over with. "He said it was my fault."

  


Sesshoumaru blinked at her but made no reply. Apparently he didn't think such nonsense needed one. If he so chose to leave Jaken behind one day, he was certain that it was his own decision. Though Kagome had given him the opportunity to see things differently, he did not give the credit for his own revelations and decisions to others. He was himself and his mind and powers were strong. He would not be made to do anything against his will...

  


"Well, anyway," she faced him. "Why are you here?" she asked him bravely. "I really wasn't expecting to see you again. Not so soon anyway."

  


"Naraku is close," Sango cut in.

  


"Close?" Kagome closed her eyes, Demon Lord forgotten. She tried locating the evil youki, searching for signs of Miasma, or Shikon Shards. She felt a foreboding, a dark shadow, but no definite signs. Still, he was there. "You're right."

  


"Sesshoumaru has offered to help us with our battle against Naraku," Shippo nuzzled Kagome's neck. 

  


Kagome looked the Inu Youkai up and down considering what this meant. He merely waited for her to finish her inspection, suffering through this in dignified silence. "We could definitely use your help," she finally announced. 

  


He huffed, shattering that image quickly. He already knew that.

  


"So what do we do?" Shippo asked her.

  


"We go shard hunting, silly."

  


"With out Inuyasha?"

  


Kagome pulled the cub off of her and held him out so she could look him in the eye. "Shippo, would you rather stay here?"

  


"No way!"

  


She smiled and snuggled him close again. He sniffed at her, finding the other fox's scent all over her and a strong mark of his near her mouth. He stretched up and sniffed her mouth just to be sure. She pulled back and stated at him cross-eyed. She gave him a funny look and quirked a brow at him. Shippo just grinned at her, pleased by this new development. 

  


"Where will we look for shards at?" Sango stared at her.

  


"We won't really be hunting the shards. We'll just be checking up on the ones we don't have."

  


"So we are going to see that wolf?" Shippo wrinkled his nose. _This could be a complication...with Inuyasha gone, the wolf might try to claim Kagome...and Kurama is so far away. Kouga better keep his paws to himself!_

  


"Yeah." Kagome answered.

  


"Lady Kagome, why won't we be looking for new shards?" Miroku questioned her.

  


"There aren't any more," she answered simply.

  


"Oh."

  


"So you, Naraku, Kouga and my brother have the last ones? I thought that there was one other," Sango pressed.

  


"There is, but Naraku can't get that one. I'll get that one when I return home. It's in the land of the dead." She fluffed Shippo's fur with her fingers, her tone and actions light and unconcerned.

  


"How do you presume to travel to such a place?" Sesshoumaru asked her curiously.

  


"Oh, I'll go with the spirit detective team...with Koenma-sama's approval of course. He's heir to spirit world. He takes care of all the inner world workings and problems." Kagome felt a strange piercing feeling that was hovering over her, thinking it was no more then her reaction to Sesshoumaru's stare. She looked at him carefully.

  


"My brother returned here with none other then Lady Death." Sesshoumaru waited for her to explain why.

  


"Yes. Boton works for Koenma. So does the whole Spirit Detective team." She glanced around, peering at every shadow. The malevolent feeling was not coming from Sesshoumaru. "Hey guys, do you feel like we are being watched?"

  


"Only for a few weeks now," Sango sighed. "Really Kagome, I think he arrived right after you left."

  


"Has he done anything?"

  


"Other then annoy the Hell out of us, no."

  


"I wonder what he is waiting for..."Kagome stretched and glanced vaguely around the clearing.

  


"For you, this Sesshoumaru is certain." The forgotten demon lord reminded them of his presence.

  


"Me? Oh, that's right. I have the other shards." Kagome brought her hand up to lightly touch her throat, where her portion of the jewel rested. "Do you-" she swallowed loudly," Do you think he'll come after them soon?"

  


"Of course."

  


"I wish Inuyasha was here..." Kagome whispered and considered her options. She missed the faint look of disbelief that flitted across the dog demon's face. _Let's see..._she thought. _I can go home...I can keep going and check on Kouga...I can wait here for Inuyasha...I can-_

  


"Remaining in this place only invites him to make the first move," Miroku said, practically reading her mind.

  


"Do you suggest we keep moving then?" she asked the monk.

  


Miroku rubbed his cursed hand thoughtfully. "I would like to keep moving," he decided.

  


"Sango?" 

  


"Yes. Let's leave here for a time."

  


"Shippo? What would you like to do?" Kagome asked the fox cub.

  


"I'll go where ever you go, Kagome!"

  


She turned to look at the silent Demon Lord. "What of you, Sesshoumaru? What will you do?"

  


He was surprised that she asked the others what their desires were. As far as he could see, she was pack leader and the others should follow her lead where ever she chose to take them. That she automatically included him in the decision making was both pleasing and annoying. After all, she even included the cub. To her, it seemed as if everyone's feelings on this matter, carried weight.

  


Sesshoumaru fixed her down with his golden eyed stare and wondered that this human girl had the power to destroy the demon that had been plaguing them for three years now.

  


"We should search out this wolf," he finally announced. 

  


Kagome nodded her head. "He will, of course, follow. He'll want Kouga's shards too." She tapped her fingers together in thought "I wish Inuyasha was back..." she repeated with a sigh. "Oh well...Come on Shippo! I brought you some things! You can share with Rin."

  


"Ohhh! What did you bring me?!"

  


"Let's go see, shall we?"

  


"Rin! Come on, Kagome has treats!"

  


Sesshoumaru watched the girl dig through her pack, pulling out items that he had never seen before. She handed Rin and Shippo both half a chocolate bar, saying something about making "Smoors" later. She hefted her bag and returned to Sango's side. "How long till we are ready to move out?"

  


"Ten minutes? I don't know about them, though," Sango pointed a finger at Jaken, the two headed dragon, and the stoic figure of the Inu Youkai.

  


"We are ready now, slayer," Sesshoumaru informed them.

  


"I forgot about the exceptional hearing thing," Kagome giggled. "I guess we'll leave in ten minutes then. Sango, bring extra weapons. I have a feeling we will be needing them. Especially with Inuyasha gone." Kagome couldn't shake the precognitive feeling that fell around her. It was a message of warning and death. Naraku's hidden presence pressed upon her, drowning her in negative thoughts and fears.

  


They moved out, traveling northeast in the regular loose organization that marked the close comradery between the majority of the members. _Inuyasha, come back soon. _Kagome watched her companions. _We are going to need you..._

  
  



	38. Anyone Else

Anyone Else

**********

  


Inuyasha felt the same weightlessness he always felt when he confronted Kikyo. It was as if her presence stopped time, stopped all action, and existed on some undefinable level.

  


He loved her. He hated her. He forgave her, and now, he must condemn her. Every bit of despair she had brought back with her with her resurrection he felt pour into him. "Kikyo..."he whispered, tasting her name on his lips for what may be the last time.

  


"You've been looking for me, Inuyasha? I see you have finally gotten rid of that copy of me." Kikyo's cold voice was a far cry from the warm hearted miko she had once been. And now, her callous words froze his heart as he remembered the reason he had sought her out.

  


"Kikyo, you've been hurting Kagome..." Inuyasha found himself immobile. Now that she was here in front of him, he felt the deep bite of betrayal tearing at his insides. 

  


"I haven't seen that pathetic imitation." she bit out.

  


"You've been trying to steal her soul!" he shouted at his old love. Despair colored his words until he almost choked on them. 

  


"It's _MY_ soul!" she suddenly growled back in anger. "Did you expect me to walk this earth forever incomplete? Did it really take you three years to realize that I've been wearing that girl down so that I could be alive again? Inuyasha, would you choose her over me?"

  


Inuyasha stared at her, a queer sadness shining in his eyes. Here he was, with the woman he had sworn to always protect and loved with his whole being, the first to care for him, love him, want him with her, and he was going to abandon her...again. Death would take her from him twice in this one life time that he was doomed to live. This time, he was going to be the one to take from her what he had made a vow to save...her life. But, she was already dead. There was nothing in this world for her...except revenge. And the Kikyo he knew and loved would not have wanted to life a life consumed with hatred.

  


"That is not his decision to make!" Boton finally spoke up. The dead Miko's cold, empty eyes turned on her. "Nor is it yours."

  


"Death..." Kikyo said softly. "Inuyasha why does Death walk with you?" the Miko recognized Boton's strange energy easily.

  


"My name is Boton. And I am here to help you return to where you belong." Boton answered for the hanyou who was practically vibrating with tension in front of her.

  


"Where I belong?" Kikyo's anger grew in leaps and bounds. "Inuyasha, would you have me die?"

  


Inuyasha gave a soft cry, hand upraised as he took a hesitant step toward the beautiful doll. "Kikyo..."

  


The Miko jerked away, hatred ripe in her usually empty face. "I won't die again so easily!" She had an arrow notched and bow drawn before they could blink. The glowing tip explained that there would be no sealing spell this time. She would shoot to kill.

  


Inuyasha ignored the bow and took another hesitant step toward his lost love.

  


"Inuyasha! Don't!" Boton gasped.

  


"Kikyo. Don't you live in torment everyday? Why? Why let it continue? Why not let it go?" Inuyasha cried.

  


"Because I don't want to cease to exist!" the woman raged. I want another chance to learn to love again, to forgive again, because then and only then can I forgive myself!"

  


But Kikyo-sama, it doesn't end this way. Isn't Kagome proof enough of that? You get another chance..." Boton reached out to the pained spirit before her.

  


"That girl is not me!"

  


"I know that. You can never come back the way you were before. Each life time is a new experience for a soul. Kikyo, you are denying yourself a chance to continue the cycle of birth and death." Boton spoke quietly, watching the arrow in apprehension.

  


"I want no other life. I want the one that has been stolen from me! I want to live the way I was meant to..." Kikyo lost the angry note in her voice. Now she seemed almost desperate. "Inuyasha, I want the chance to love you!"

  


Inuyasha clenched his fists at his sides, nails digging into flesh. "Kikyo...I loved who you were. Not who you are now..."

  


Kikyo's eyes widened in shock. He was denying her! He was casting her off, forgetting what she had given up for him!

  


"Kikyo, if you had been like this when we met, we would never have fallen in love. I would probably been dead the first time you realized I was there. You have become hard, Kikyo."

  


"I'm like this because of you! I died for you! I came back for you! I exist because of you!" she cried out to him.

  


"Inuyasha caught his breath. "I'm...sorry...I'm sorry Kikyo."

  


"No..." she let the bow fall from limp fingers.

  
  


"Kikyo-sama," Boton reached out a hand to the pale girl, "no one blames you for what happened."

  


"You lie..." Kikyo fell to her knees, trembling in her emotional pain. "Even my reincarnation blames me."

  


"No, she doesn't. If she blamed you, she would still carry that anger you now have inside of her. Kagome is pure, Kikyo, because inside, so are you."

  


Kikyo laughed. It was a hollow empty sound. "Pure? I live through my hatred, Boton-sama. How could you say such a thing?"

  


"Hate is part of the living experience, just as much as love is. It doesn't make you tainted, Kikyo-sama. It makes you learn...It is as important as any other thing you feel. If you can overcome this, you beat all the evil that ever once held you here." Boton tried to keep her voice even, but the sight of so much suffering hurt her own tender heart. She was afraid to look at the silent dog demon behind her. If his pain was near what Kikyo displayed, she would be unable to keep from running to him to offer what comfort she could.

  


"Do you love her, Inuyasha?" Kikyo's hands fisted on her legs, her hair hung, hiding her face.

  


"What?" he croaked.

  


"That girl, Kagome...Do you love her?"

  


"No. Not like that. I never could. She reminds me of you at times...and of what I can never really have..." he replied truthfully. 

  


"Don't ever love her. Anyone else, but never her," Kikyo said quietly.

  


"Kikyo!" Inuyasha rushed to her, unable to hold himself back any longer. 

  


"You are right, Inuyasha. I'm not who I was..." she pulled him close, hugging the half demon tightly before pushing him away. He looked into her deep brown eyes, a silent plea for forgiveness. 

  


"I will always carry some small remembrance of you in my heart." 

  


"I know...I will never forget you either."

  


"Kikyo-sama..." Boton hesitated to interrupt them, but she needed to be sure. "Will you go back now?"

  


"I will..I will descend back into hell..." the miko began to pull her energy to a point beneath her feet.

  


"Wait! Kikyo, you were never meant to dwell in hell!" Boton exclaimed. "I can show you the path to Spirit World, but I can only accompany you a short way. This is not my time."

  


"Spirit World?" Kikyo regarded the blue haired girl in front of her. 

  


"Yes...it is the place of the hall of judgement...but your soul has already been reborn, so it is obvious that you do not wind up in hell."

  


"Hmmm."

  


"Come with me?" Boton held out a hand in friendship. The anger and dislike that she had previously harbored had melted away in the face of so much emotional pain. Kikyo was never evil...and now, she faced the fact that she had to move on.

  


Kikyo took the spirit's hand, a felt a strange warmth in her finger tips. Her cold and lifeless body melted away until a glowing but faded sculpture of her replaced the clay and bone. "Come with me?" Boton tugged the ethrical hand gently. She opened a portal, and walked slowly, at the other woman's pace, until they were safely standing in the next realm.

  


"There," she said pointing to a massive building in the distance, "is where you must go. Ask for Yukari. She will take you to King Enma...and tell her, her daughter says hello..."

  


Kikyo nodded and released the other girls fingers. She did not begin walking yet, though. Instead she turned back to the spirit girl. "Will I really be forgiven?" 

  


"Ah, Kikyo," Boton smiled softly, "You were never accused."

  


Kikyo gave a small sobbing laugh and took the first steps of her final journey.

  


Boton watched the lonely figure fade into the distance. This wasn't as fulfilling as she had believed it would be. She felt drained, and the happiness she had believed would come to her for saving Kagome, came at a great price.

  


She understood now, why Kagome had never told anyone of the pain Kikyo caused her. Boton knew why she had not told of the times that Kikyo had attempted to kill her. This price was too high to make such a decision when you loved the one who would suffer the greatest from Kikyo's death. Boton rubbed the silent tears from her eyes. If she was effected like this, Inuyasha must be falling apart inside. Boton quickly opened the portal, returning to the Hanyou she knew would need a friend now more then ever before...

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kurama studied the ground in front of him defiantly. "It definitely came this way." He pointed out the trail the others couldn't see.

  


"If you are sure, Kurama," Yusuke trailed along, letting the experienced fox scout out the demon's scent and tracks. Tracking was definitely not on his list of things that he was good at.

  


"What are we following again?" Kuwabara asked.

  


"Idiot. What do we usually find ourselves trailing after?" Hiei snorted.

  


"Shut up, shrimp. I know it's a demon. What kind of demon is it?" Kuwabara shot back. "And what did it do to make us have to track it?"

  


"It's just a demon!" Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Does it matter what kind it is?"

  


"It's a dog demon," Kurama pointed out a light mark in the stiff grass. "See that?"

  


"Bent grass? Bent grass means it's a dog demon?"

  


"No, fool. Kurama can smell, track and understand the variations in the movements of different types of demons."

  


"Oh..."

  


Kurama ignored them, following the dog's hidden trail with care. This demon was experienced and smart. If he let up, even a little, he would lose the path and be forced to double back repeatedly until he found the soft marks again, if he ever did.

  


Kurama moved slowly, trying to follow the crafty demon. Suddenly the trail vanished. He checked, again and again, but it just disappeared, as if the dog had grown wings and flown away.

  


"Koenma isn't going to like this."

  


"What?" Yusuke came up behind him.

  


"He is gone."

  


"Gone? We haven't even found it yet. How can it be gone?" Yusuke pouted. "Where did it go?"

  


"It flew away..."

  


"I thought you said it was a dog." Kuwabara mused.

  


"It is."

  


"Dogs don't fly."

  
  


"Shut up, Baka." Hiei said. "Dogs don't fly. Dog demons can...I suppose."

  


"You suppose?" Yusuke glanced at the moody koorime.

  


"It's just as likely as a fox with two tails."

  


"Or five..." Yusuke agreed pointing a finger at Kurama.

  


"You have five tails!?" Kuwabara ran up to the red head. "Can I see?"

  


"Definitely not."

  


"Awww..." he whined.

  


_No way am I going to parade around so HE can stare at my rear..._Youko snarled. _With that Baka's fetish for fur, He'd probably what to pet me too._

  


_Meow..._Shuuichi laughed.

  


_Now Kagome can stare at my tails all she wants..._

  


_Don't you ever give up? _Shuuichi sighed.

  


_Keh! I'm no quitter. I wouldn't even die!_

  


_I know..._the human groaned. _And it was jsut my luck that I'm now stuck with you._

  


_You know you love me! _Youko teased.

  


_Sorry, but my affections are directed elsewhere, thank you, _Shuuichi replied primly.

  


_Forget it human. I've got my eyes on that prize._

  


_She kissed me..._Shuuichi said smugly.

  


_She kissed us! _Youko insisted.

  


_She doesn't even know you exist._

  


_I'll fix that._

  


_What!? _Shuuichi became suddenly serious. _What are you planning, Youko?_

  


_..._

  
  


_Youko? _The eerie silence disturbed Kurama

  


"Ah, shit."__

  


"Problems in wonderland?" Hiei snorted behind him. "You may need a mediator. Want me to step in?"

  


"There are enough voices in my head as it is, Hiei. But thank you anyway. _Could_ you mediate?"

  


Hiei grinned evilly. Kurama shuddered. "Never mind. Swords don't work in the mind." Hiei's grin widened. "Neither does the Dragon of Darkness Flame...I hope." The grin remained plastered on Hiei's face, giving the impression of someone doing something naughty and enjoying every minute of it. "Stop that," Kurama pleaded.

  


"What were you,-they, arguing about this time?" Hiei was curious about the boy's conversation. If the energies coming off from him were any indication, the conversation must have been interesting.

  


Kurama raised a brow, and glanced at Hiei. The fire demon made no pretense at trying to appear innocent. He was being nosey, pure and simple.

  


"I miss her," was all he said.

  


"Hn," Hiei blinked. His smile never wavered. "So, who's winning?"

  


"Who said anyone is fighting?"

  


Hiei scoffed. "Did you really need to say it?"

  


"No. I suppose not."

  


"Well?" he persisted.

  


_"I_ am," he answered mutinously.

  


"Hn. Does she know?"

  


"That I like her? I think so._"_

  


"You're hopeless..."

  


Kurama smiled slightly. "Yeah, I know..."

  


_Who's hopeless?_

  


_You are, fox._

  


_Feh!...you don't really think that I'm hopeless, do you?_

  


_....baka..._

  


Kurama sighed, "I hope Kagome comes back soon. Those two are driving me crazy."

  


"Hn."

  


******************************************************************************

  
  
  
  



	39. Naraku Revealed

Reminder! There is character death in this chapter...but, it's not permanent. Hehehe

  


Naraku Revealed

**************

  


Kagome slapped a bug off her arm and trudged after the others. They had been traveling for four days now, and it was getting annoying that the high and mighty Lord Demon had taken it upon himself to keep them going. Kagome would have ignored the stupid challenge he had set, except that he had made it seem as if her limitations as a human were to be expected and he would make "allowances" for her unavoidable handicap. It had pissed her off and she had fallen for the crafty dog's manipulations. Now, he was just waiting for her fall behind...and she was, Damn him! She couldn't really be mad though, she had started the pace by trying to prove him wrong..and now, she was the one at the end of the line.

  


Sesshoumaru called the rag-tag band to an abrupt halt. "Miko, we are followed."

  


"Kagome. Ka-Go-Me. I- oh, never mind. I knew that would happen. How far away is he?"

  


"He is close enough to spread his stink," the Dog Demon replied.

  


"I can't sense him. I wonder-" Kagome's words were cut off. Her blue eyes widened suddenly. One hand flew up to clutch at her chest as if she were in pain.

  


"Kagome?" Sango touched her friend's tense arm in concern. Kagome opened her mouth to reply several times but no sound escaped her lips. Her pale skin began to glow enough to be plainly visible in the light of day.

  


"Kagome!" Shippo made a mad dash toward the dark haired girl. He ran hard into the quickly erected barrier she had set. "Kagome?" the fox kit cried.

  


"The light flashed brightly, then dimmed until it faded away, leaving the girl standing there, no changes visible on or near her. She patted herself down, examined her skin with exaggerated care and brought the barrier back down.

  


Shippo launched himself at her, small arms and legs clinging determinedly to her slim form. "Kagome!"

  


"What happened, Lady Kagome?" Miroku was going to run a concerned hand across her shoulders, but Sango's boomerang intercepted him.

  


"I don't know. I feel...bigger. But I'm not." she twirled around and poked her own small nose. "That was so strange...almost like I grew."

  


Sesshoumaru found himself distracted by the short but dramatic spectacle. He, however, was not distracted enough to be unalert to Naraku's nearness. He stalked forward, grabbed the fox child by his puffy tail and threw him across the clearing.

  


"Eeee!" Shippo squealed, landing in a ball near Rin's feet.

  


"Shippo! Sesshoumaru, what-" Kagome stared in shock at the composed Lord.

  


"Jaken, take the young one's to my home."

  


"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

  


"And Jaken, be sure they get there unharmed."

  


"Of course, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

  


Jaken pushed the two children onto AhUn's back, guiding the two heads westward. He ignored the children's protests, allowing Rin to subdue the kitsune's struggles. The kit wouldn't hurt his friend, so Rin was safe enough, but he desperately wanted to run back to Kagome.

  


"It's okay, Shippo. I trust Sesshoumaru to know what is best for Rin. You need to protect her too!" Kagome tempted the kit into finding purpose in this strange turn of events. "Go with them. I'm counting on you to be strong!"

  


Kagome's cheerful face convinced the fox to stop struggling. He stayed stiffly on the dragon's back, staring in fear at the woman he saw as his mother. He wasn't naive. He knew something bad was going to happen soon. That is why they were being sent away. But, If Kagome was expecting him to protect Rin, then he'd give his life to complete this task. "Mama..." he whispered as they faded from his sight.

  


Kagome's false cheer vanished at record speed. She turned icy eyes on the Demon Lord. "If you _ever _do that again, I'll throw _you_ across the god damned mmmmph!" Sango's hand effectively cut off the remainder of Kagome's threat.

  


"Do you feel that, Houshi?" the slayer questioned softly.

  


"Yes." Miroku rubbed his sealed hand. A hard look was predominant over his usually calm countenance. "Naraku..." he confirmed.

  


"Mmnhnkumm?! Ahhmmnnahhy?!"

  


"Slayer, release the Miko."

  


Sango quickly pulled her hand away. "Sorry Kagome."

  


Kagome rubbed a hand over her face. "Mmm. It's okay, Sango-chan." Her head suddenly shot up. "I sense Shikon Shards!"

  


"Here he comes," Miroku braced his legs and centered himself between the two women.

  


"I wish Inuyasha was here!" Kagome said again. "Look! There is the mob..." She fitted her arrow to her bow, determination alive in every bit of her being.

  


"Be ready."

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Inuyasha?" Boton found the half dog calmly sitting in the highest branches of a tall tree. His face was pale, and set in tranquil lines, but his eyes were alive with pain. He didn't look at her, but at the puffs of white idly floating across the sky. "Inuyasha...I'm sorry." Boton felt her eyes fill with stinging tears.

  


She had wanted to spend time with him, but not like this...not because of something like this. She wondered if he would always associate her with Kikyo's leaving now. Would she fall into the same trap as Kagome? Would she be nothing to him but a reminder of what could never be?

  


"Boton? Was she..."

  


He paused for so long, she thought he had decided against questioning her, but then he found the right words for the question he needed her to answer.

  


"Was she angry with me...again? Did she die hating me even more?"

  


"No, Inuyasha. I think she was...relieved."

  


He finally turned to look at her, needing to see the truth of those words reflected in her eyes. Boton held his gaze, her oar holding her steady in the air next to him. "She loved you, Inuyasha. Even when she hated you, she loved you."

  


Inuyasha's chest hurt from holding in the sobs he was afraid to give into. "Will...Kagome...be okay now?"

  


"Yes. She'll be able to stop fighting to keep the rest of herself together. I couldn't give her back her soul...but a great deal of her energy she was unconsciously using to ward off Kikyo will be free for other uses now..."

  


"So she's stronger?"

  


"Ah, no...just not spread so thin..."

  


He nodded in understanding and turned his face back to the clouds. "Boton, am I a fool?" he asked the ferry girl at this side.

  


"A fool?"

  


"To take Kikyo's words to heart. Would it be wrong to believe I can love again...like I did with her?"

  


"It wouldn't ever be the same, Inuyasha. But, yes, it's okay to love again," she answered. "She even wanted you to."

  


A single heart rending sob broke from his lips. Boton quickly abandoned her oar for the narrow branch. She wrapped her arms around his shaking shoulders and whispered to him that it was okay to cry. It was okay to grieve.

  


Inuyasha took her at her word and made good use of Boton's surprisingly sturdy shoulder. Lady Death had a large and soft heart under her pale pink kimono...

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Oh, God! Look out behind you!"

  


Sesshoumaru didn't glance at the yelling Miko but spun around to slice off another threatening tentacle. The puppet in front of him was no more then a nuisance, a distraction to what Naraku really had planned.

  


Toukojin pulsed, it's thirst for blood, any blood, insatiable. Sesshoumaru's control over the blade never wavered, but just as he was aware of Naraku's toying with them, he felt every change in aura the blade portrayed. It pulled vaguely in the direction of the closest source of life that taunted it. He allowed the sword to lead slightly, not relying on its hunger to guide him, but taking advantage of it.

  


"Sango, left! No, Right!"

  


A thick squelching sound confirmed that the giant boomerang connected, slicing various lesser demons into pieces. It returned to the slayer's outstretched fingers in one smooth motion. "Thanks, Kagome," she called out.

  


It was a relatively small attack. The puppet Naraku and a small mob of lesser demons was all the demon spider sent against them.

  


"I can't feel the shards anymore!" Kagome shouted to who ever was listening.

  


"What?" Sango hissed. "Is he retreating?"

  


Kagome paled. "No..." she whispered. She pointed a trembling finger behind Sesshoumaru. The demon lord stiffened and used his nose and instincts to check around himself, since they were the senses with the quickest reactions speeds, before he turned to see what was obviously terrifying the Miko. He sensed nothing. Nothing at all. It was as if there was...a barrier there, hiding something or someone.

  
  


It was a trap, as usual. The coward lured them in, worked them up a bit to exhaust them and now, he was preparing to finally make the move he had been planning all along.

  


"Oh, Kami no..." he alone heard the Miko's soft words. Then, the barrier came crashing down, revealing to him all the sensations that should have plagued his acute senses from the start. The sudden change washed over him in a giant wave. Thousands upon thousands of demons gathered with bloodlust in their eyes. It overwhelmed the dog's nose and mind, leaving him stunned just long enough for Naraku, the real Naraku, to gain a solid blow to the TaiYoukai.

  


Sesshoumaru cleared his vision, and examined the deep hole in his shoulder. His fingers numbed slowly as he watched in placid fascination as his blood dripped in a rhythmic manner from their clawed tips. That Bastard, expecting Inuyasha had set a trap meant to disable the pup long enough to score a fatal wound. On Sesshoumaru, the wound wasn't fatal, but it was bad. His eyes began to glow an eerie red, a visual mark of his anger. That's when he heard the Miko scream his name.

  


"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome saw the Inu Youkai falter and face the giant mass of demons the barrier had revealed. Naraku stood in front of them, Kohaku, Kagura, and Kanna at his side. She quickly set one of her last three arrows to the string and let it fly. It arched beautifully until Kagura's wind blades knocked it up enough to send it's glowing form into the mass of bodies behind them. A large number of the youkai turned to dust and ash, but it was not enough to make much difference.

  


She had two arrows left. Kagome wisely hid one beside her and quickly readied the last. Then, the world became a whirlwind of motion and fear and pain. The emotional Miko lashed out blindly with her purifying energies when any demon got too close, but in the real battle, she was mostly useless.

  


Kagome knew she was crying. She could feel the wet tracks marking her face and dripping from her chin. She couldn't attack, she had only that one arrow left and she was saving it. She was doing relatively okay protecting herself, but she could not help her friends now, when they needed it most.

  


She trembled, the overwhelming numbers mocking their efforts. Sesshoumaru held Toukojin in one bloodied claw, intent on breaking through Naraku's defenses. He slashed, jabbed, jumped, swung, lashed, but always, something jumped in the way and saved the hanyou from destruction.

  


Kagome saw Kohaku move determinedly toward his sister, his eyes blank with emptiness. She gasped, wanting to shout a warning, but was engaged in saving her own neck. _Sango, _she thought sadly, _be strong._

  


Miroku used his wind tunnel only when no other way was clearly seen. The wasps at their master's command, took advantage of these short lapses when Miroku was given no choice but to rely on his curse as his strength and poisoned him slowly.

  


Kagome turned back to Sesshoumaru, the Demon Lord didn't even look winded, but Kagome could see lines of strain and pain bracketing his set mouth and the glint of desperation in his golden eyes. The Inu Demon Lord was suddenly thrown from the battle, the sheer numbers momentarily defeating the prideful Youkai. She gasped, her mind refusing to process all the information her senses were giving her.

  


A horrible cry rang out near by and she automatically turned to ward the sound. "No...No, Don't!" she shouted. "NO!" A large random burst of her energy circled her, clearing the immediate area of danger. Her view was clear and uncluttered of demons and oni's. "NO!" she screamed.

  


Her world seemed to go black. All her hopes, and naive dreams of the future crashing down around her feet. She ran on the blood slicked earth, trying desperately to reach the scene unfolding in front of her. "NO, MIROKU! SANGO!"

  


A strong arm stole around her waist. Halting her mad dash in mid stride. She almost purified the owner of the arm until she recognized Sesshouamru's aura. He returned her to her previous position on top of the rocky hill top in one bound, and jumped back into the battle.

  


Naraku's attention was diverted enough to gain Kagome's utter attention. Something inside her snapped, a dark will that wanted nothing more then to destroy the evil hanyou and everything he was associated with. She had no more faith that even he could be saved. She had no more forgiveness left inside. She grabbed the arrow near her foot, and poured all of her sorrow into it. "Naraku..." she whispered. "I'll never forgive you..." and she let it fly.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	40. The Center of My Sorrow

The Center of My Sorrow

*********************

  


Kagome pulled her oversized yellow backpack up from the recesses of the well. The shrine house was quiet except for the sound of her own struggle with the weight of her things and the mumbled curses that spilled from her lips. A pair of strong hands suddenly appeared beside her and easily plucked the bag from her fingers and dragged it over the lip of the old well. One arm was bandaged, informing her of who had come to greet her this time.

  


She stared dully into the dark depths of the well. For the first time since he had known her, she did not offer him a greeting, or a thank you. There was no cheerful smile that he had so counted on seeing.

  


"Kagome?" she turned almost lifeless eyes to him and he caught his breath at th change in her. She had a face so full of sorrow.

  


Kagome suddenly threw her arms around the koorime, and buried her face into his shirt front. He could feel her shaking. He wasn't sure what to do so he tried to push her away so he could see her face. Then she started to talk.

  


"They are dead, Hiei. Sango...Miroku. They're dead and I couldn't stop it."

  


She started to sob pitifully. He wrapped his arms around her huddled, shivering figure and rested his cheek on top of her head. Having never been comforted like this in his own life, he found the gesture somehow familiar. In his dreams he was held like this. Someone was there to care for him, to care about him. A mother, a sister, a friend...it didn't matter. Just someone to hold him when he needed it.

  


She hiccoughed and shuddered in his arms. H was not going to ask, but he could tell she needed to talk of it.

  


"Her own bro-brother, Kohaku, he killed her. He kept swinging and she wouldn't fight him. She wouldn't believe that he wouldn't fight it. She let him-she let him do it. And when she couldn't move-" she clutched him tighter to her. "Naraku let Kohaku see what he did. He gave him back his mind so he could see..." another sob caught her. "And when Naraku took his life, even as she lay there dying, she still believed the best of him. She loved him s-s-soo much." she continued to shake in silence for a while. She was crying silent tears now, and they seemed so much more painful then the grief-stricken sobs that had preceded them.

  


"And Miroku, he saw it all. He loved her, you know. He saw the demon mob; knew he couldn't take them all in with the poison bees and live. But he did it anyway to save her, even though she was already dying. He used his air void and lay beside her. He finally told her...and it made her so happy. They died there, together only in those last moments. They should have told each other so long ago. It was horrible...and it was beautiful. I never got to tell them how much they meant to me. I never said..."

  


She pulled slightly away from him to look into his face. "Hiei, don't let others doubt your feelings. Don't let that regret rule over your life in the end...or for those you care about."

  


He didn't know what to say to that.

  


"It was selfish of them to put their pride above their love. To put their personal fears above the happiness they could have brought each other. They never took that chance until the end. It was with regret in their eyes that they died. Don't let someone feel the regret for you."

  


Would Yukina regret? Hell, he knew she already did. She felt like a failure for not finding her brother. And it was slowly consuming her...

  


Hiei sat with the now silent girl until she fell into an exhausted sleep. He moved her into her room, with the help of the girls mother. He knew he wasn't handling this situation very well, so he went to find the one who could. 

  


He found him moping alone in the park. "Hn." he greeted the red head.

  


"Hello, Hiei."

  


"Get off your ass, Fox. Kagome needs you," he growled.

  


Kurama's green eyes came back to vivid life, lit from within. "Kagome's back?" He couldn't contain his pleased smile. He hadn't been ready for how much he missed her. Hiei's continued silence and somber look was enhanced by the impatience evident in his crimson eyes. "What's wrong?" Kurama demanded. His smile quickly vanished with the realization that something had happened.

  


"She needs you," he repeated and vanished.

  


Kurama found himself running, swiftly covering the distance to the shrine house. He didn't bother with the door, but sprang quickly up the tree and to her open window. Looking inside, he found her curled in a tight ball on her bed, fully dressed, but filthy. He could smell her tears, and Hiei's lingering scent on the air.

  


His step was so soft and movements so gentle, there was really no concern that he might wake her. He knelt beside her bed and rested his arms next to her tear-streaked face. Even in her sleep, the tears were leaking out. He wiped them away as they fell, and waited for her to wake up and tell him what happened.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Shippo paced nervously around the garden in Sesshoumaru's home. It had been a full day since Kagome had sent him off with Rin and Jaken. Now, he waited for someone to come for him.

  
  


He quit pacing, and curled up next to a patch of flowers. The smell reminded him of Kagome and Kurama's mixed scent. It brought him a small measure of comfort since he felt so alone right now.

  


Shippo was agitated enough that he transformed into his other form, his four legged fox form, and tucked his pointed nose under one of his two puffy tails. He hadn't taken this form since he and his father had been running together...the day the Thunder Brothers took his fathers fur...

  


A small commotion inside sent the kit sprinting for the door on all fours. His paws scrambled for purchase on the stone floor and failed to find it. He slid into the open doorway of a room, unable to halt his mad dash. Recovering, he spun about and turned the corner, following the sound of raised voices.

  


The tiny fox remained unnoticed by the multitude of servants flocking around one door. When it opened to allow for Jaken to rush through, the kit followed close on his heals. The door slid shut behind them, effectively trapping him inside with Jaken and...Sesshoumaru.

  


Shippo couldn't help but let out a quick bark of happiness when he saw the demon Lord. He lifted his pointed nose into the air to sniff out his mother...instead he smelled blood. His perked ears and tails fell, and he couldn't contain the frightened whimper.

  


Sesshoumaru met the fox's wide green eyes. "She's alive and well, fox." He said nothing more. Instead, he stripped off the armor and upper half of his clothing. The healing wounds on his body did not concern him. It was the wound that Naraku gave him that troubled him. The hanyou's poison miasma kept the deep hole from closing. It was annoying, but not fatal. He could see the kit dancing from paw to paw, his impatience obvious with the nervous movement. He looked at the fox again, answering the child's unspoken question to alleviate his fears. "I took her to her home for a time. You may remain here until she returns."

  


Sesshoumaru interpreted the soft bark as a thank you and told Jaken to let the fox back out. Shippo slipped out and returned to the garden to think. Sesshoumaru stayed where he was and tended to the poisoned wound.

  


The fight had not gone well. He knew, had it not been for the Miko's arrow, they would both be dead right now. He had known that she had power, but the extent of her strength had surpassed what he had imagined the girl could hold deep within her.

  


Unfortunately, Naraku was not destroyed, just temporarily defeated. Alone, Naraku's strength could never match the Tai Youkai's. No, Sesshoumaru had been defeated by numbers and his pride had been pricked, but he knew his honor was intact. The child Miko had saved his life. It was a debt he was determined to repay.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kurama watched the shadows on the wall lengthen as evening closed in. Kagome had not woken and Kurama knew she needed her rest. He let his fingers smooth out her hair as she slept, the action meant to comfort him more then her.

  


He tensed when he heard a person in the hallway approaching her room. He looked up when the door opened, but refused to abandon his spot. 

  


Mrs. Higurashi glanced in and smiled, not at all surprised to see the young man kneeling by her daughter's bed. She hid her amusement at his confused expression and pushed the door further open with her hip. "Your friend told me you would be coming," she explained. "I must not have heard you arrive..."

  


Green eyes blinked. "I apologize," he began. "I was in a hurry..." he turned back to the sleeping girl, worry evident in his eyes. "Forgive my rudeness..." he continued quietly.

  


"No need," she announced cheerfully. "It's just as it should be!"

  


He looked at the older woman again, wondering what she could possibly mean by those words.

  


"You wouldn't be right for my daughter if your manners meant more to you then she does."

  


Kurama's lips pulled up in a wry smile. "That obvious, am I?"

  


She laughed quietly. "To everyone but her." She tucked a small lap quilt around the sleeping girl's bare legs and automatically smoothed out the wrinkles. "Dinner will be finished soon. I don't expect you down though. I would appreciate it if you could stay with her. I'll bring a tray up."

  


He nodded, a soft look on his face. "I'll stay."

  


_I never doubted that, _Mrs. Higurashi thought to herself. "What is your home number? I will call you family to let them know you are here."

  


Kurama lifted startled eyes to her calm face. "That isn't necessary. They are used to me being gone for extended lengths of time." He sighed when she raised one questioning brow at him. It was easier to agree then to explain so he gave in and gave her the number. The triumphant gleam in her eyes didn't escape his notice, but he was not in the position to question it right now, so he returned to his silent vigil. 

  


"I'll make tea," she announced before sweeping from the room, his phone number tucked casually in one hand, hastily scrawled across a slip of paper taken from her daughter's desk.

  


Kurama was distractedly playing with the ends of Kagome's dark hair when she returned. She smiled at him again and placed a tea tray on her daughter's night stand. She left wordlessly and returned with arms full of bedding and pillows. Kurama watched mutely as she made a third trip and returned, dragging a heavy looking chair along behind her. This time, he got up to help.

  


"Your mother seemed quite relieved to hear you were here. She seemed pleased to know that you weren't off doing something dangerous." she grinned at him, eyes sparkling. "She is somehow under the impression that you have been disappearing periodically to be with my daughter."

  


_I wonder where she got that impression..._Youko giggled.

  


"She also said that next time you come home, she expects you to bring the poor girl home to meet her."

  


_I bet! _Shuuichi commented.

  


Kurama just carried the chair easily into the room.

  


"Put it where you were sitting. It is much more comfortable then the floor. I'm afraid you'll have to make do with the floor for the night, however." She spread the blankets and pillows out into a comfortable nest. She nodded, satisfied with her work.

  


He stared at her in disbelief. "Thank you..." he heard himself say automatically.

  


"Drink your tea before it gets cold," she scolded and left, pulling the door shut behind her.

  


Kurama stared at he closed door, trying to understand the human woman's unpredictable responses to the situation. He looked at the thick pallet on the floor and the cushioned chair beside him before sinking into it. _So I'm expected to stay..._

  


_Don't complain._

  


_I'm not. I'm just surprised._

  


_Keh! Humans...Take advantage of the situation, fool._

  


_Advantage? That's your expertise, Youko._

  


_Hehehe! That's not what I meant, but..._he considered.

  


_Then what did you mean?_

  


_Make her love us, boy! Get her to fall in love with us!_

  


_How, exactly, am I supposed to do that?_

  


It was very quiet in the room, while Youko considered this. _I think, _he said seriously,_ we love her._

  


Shuuichi snorted, _and?_

  


_We have to love her, not just BE in love with her_, the fox answered. _You figure the rest of it out. _Youko promptly shut up, his energy receding to the background.

  


Shuuichi's energy became prominent, and though Kurama's body did not change, his posture and mood did. The human was more emotional and his current moods more obvious.

  


He crowded closer to Kagome and twined his hand around hers. _What happened to you out there?_ He wondered. Being the intellectual one, Shuuichi felt his thoughts going a mile a minute. He imagined one scenario after another, settling on none. 

  


Kurama felt a headache coming on and gruffly told the human to step back. Shuuichi sighed and complied. A head ache for one meant that they all felt it. And he didn't feel like listening to either of them complain. So he relinquished control back to the overlapped version, namely Kurama, and settled into his familiar niche he rested at, carefully observing the situation.

  


Kurama was glad when the flighty human settled down. He sat there, Kagome's hand still in his, and a cup of tea cradled in the other. _Wake up soon..._he thought. _I need to see you smile again..._

  


******************************************************************************

  


Okay, guys. I'm trying not to leave you at a major cliffhanger, so I will post one more chapter. I am sorry it took me longer to get these out then normal, but I've been sick...sniffle...I'm better now, though, so continue on to the next chapter!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	41. Glimmer of hope

Glimmer

*******

  


Boton groggily opened her eyes. The bright light of morning blinded her so she snapped her eyes closed again. She considered rolling over and burying herself in the comfy, warm blanket surrounding her. She put out a hand, searching blindly for the edge of the blanket to do just that. She finally found it and pulled.

  


"What-What are you doing!?" Inuyasha yelled, pulling the hem of his shirt back down.

  


"Huh?" Boton squinted, searching for the source of the loud noise. Her blurry gaze finally landed on the half demon. She smiled, "Oh, Good morning Inuyasha." She looked around her in confusion, finally realizing Inuyasha had been her blanket.

  


He watched wide eyes, as she turned a pretty shade of pink. It almost matched her eyes. He kept his one arm loosely wrapped around her shoulders and was elated when she didn't pull away. "What happened?"

  


She smiled at him and laughed. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

  


"Feh! You were still awake when I fell asleep!" he blushed himself, remembering how he had cried all over this petite woman.

  


"True...You fell asleep," she shrugged. "I fell asleep...We fell asleep."

  


"Here?"

  


"Right here," she agreed. _Should I pull away from him? I don't want to...he's so warm..._

  


Inuyasha was vaguely aware that they were in a position that would give any observers the wrong impression. He was also aware that he didn't care at the minute. He was straddling the tree limb. She was straddling him...hmmm.

  


Boton didn't feel the least bit awkward since she knew that nothing had happened between them. Somehow, she had the impression that things didn't work like that for the boy beneath her though. If the constant twitching of his ears or the embarrassed look on his face weren't plain enough, then the way he held himself perfectly still and barely breathing was a good clue. Maybe there was hope for her yet. She sighed and pulled her oar out of mid air and elegantly transferred her weight.

  


Inuyasha couldn't hold back the swell of disappointment at the loss of contact. He grabbed her hand before he thought better of it. "Wait, I-"

  


She took his hand and smiled at him prettily. Come on. This time you climb on."

  


He blinked at her, ears now standing straight at attention. He stared at her, amber eyes wide with indecision.

  


"Come on," she patted the oar behind her. "We can travel faster this way, now that you don't have to use your nose to find anyone."

  


"Uhh..." he continued to hesitate, but eventually gave in to her bright optimism. "Keh, Fine!" He announced gruffly. He pretended the feeling of trepidation coursing through him was nothing more then an irritation.

  


He clambered on behind her, wary of the vast amount of space between him and the ground. Heights did not bother him, but placing his life in the hands of others did.

  


"Hold on!" she sang out. As soon as they started moving, he grabbed at her, circling her waist with his arms and gave off a very undignified yelp.

  


He growled when he heard her giggle but quickly subsided and relaxed. _No wonder Miroku likes to ride behind Sango..._he loosened his tense muscles and began to enjoy the feeling of flying lightly through the air. _I wonder how they are..._

  


******************************************************************************

  


Hiei glowered at his feet. Against every thread of common sense he tried to utilize, he found that his feet had brought him here. He was where he knew he was the most vulnerable and it was because of what Kagome had said that had him thinking about the regret his sister must feel in her soul and not his own pain. What if he never gave her that chance to decide if she was willing to associate with a brother that was noting short of a killer, and a convicted thief?

  


Hiei had to face his own fears about her possible rejection, true, but what of her fears that her brother would never be known to her? That she had failed in the one true task that she had set for herself. The sheltered woman had left her home and everything that she had known to find a man she knew nothing about except that he was a Forbidden Child of the Koorime and had been cast out of their home when no more then an infant. She had given up all that she had for what she could only possibly receive by finding her lost sibling. And even knowing this, he had remained hidden from her, his reasons justified by his own selfish ideals. 

  


Hiei shuddered and focused on the issue. He was standing here, his legs refusing to carry him away when he had no plan of action and had developed no way of escape if things went as badly as he feared they would.

  


"Hiei?" a soft voice called out.

  


_Damn it! She found me, already!_ Hiei cursed his luck, he hadn't been able to regain his resolve to remain nothing but a shadow in her life before she had sensed his presence. His indecision had left him rooted to the ground, vulnerable until his choices had been striped from him. Now, he couldn't run away. Now, he had to face her. _Shut up, _he told himself, _You were counting on this to happen..._

  


"Hiei?" the pale girl approached him. "Good morning," she bowed politely to him.

  


He stared, ruby eyes taking in every movement, each expression. "Hn." he heard himself reply. He could have slapped himself for that. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hmm...Good morning..." it was hesitant, but clear.

  


Hiei couldn't believe it. Such a simple greeting had her smiling at him as if he had single handedly saved the world just for her. He backed up a step, eyes widened. Hiei, one of the most feared Youkai in the makia, was terrified. _What if she turns away? What if I hurt her? What if-_

  


"Where are the others? She asked, looking behind him. She had never seen him with out the others around before. "Are they on their way over here too?"

  


"Hn. No."

  


She blinked her matching garnet eyes and calmly tucked her hands in her kimono sleeves. She waited a minute, watching the dark man in front of her. He had always made her feel relaxed and safe. Strange, considering that he seemed to make everyone else nervous. He seemed uncomfortable so she decided to offer him what hospitality the shrine had to offer. "Would you like to come inside? I can make tea..."She didn't expect him to accept. He never had before, but she hid her surprise at his reply.

  


"Yes. Thank you...Yukina..." he said, and followed her inside.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Sesshoumaru returned to the battle grounds as soon as he nullified Naraku's poison and begun healing his shoulder. After taking the Miko back to her home at the well by flying her there using his Youki to carry them, he had taken care of himself. It took him no more then a few hours to return to the site, so the ground still steamed with the cooling blood of thousands of demons. He made an effort to delicately sniff the air, hoping to catch a hint of where Naraku had escaped to.

  


He almost gagged, the scent of death, decay, and congealing blood extremely strong. He got a pinched look around his eyes and mouth, and considered holding his breath. A temporary lack of air, though annoying, would save him from inhaling the tainted atmosphere.

  


A strong burst of energy at his side had him gasping instead, the foul stench filling his nose and mouth. He growled low in his throat, waiting for the dizzy spell to dissipate. Tenseiga pulsed insistently, startling the Demon Lord again. He touched the fang's hilt, the sword vibrated under his clawed fingertips.

  


As soon as his skin came in contact with the blade, the tiny creatures that prepared the dead for their journey tothe next world, appeared as phantom monsters to his eyes. They were everywhere, frantically jumping from body to body. The number of dead seemed to be overwhelming the things as much as they had him in life. It would take them days to prepare the vast numbers of dead for Death to lead them to the next world.

  


The sword had a heart beat, a pulling that drew him in, until he was wading through the gore and mutilated demons clogging the ground. He ignored the squish and slog of the blood soaked earth under his feet to the best of his ability, but couldn't contain the faint mark of disdain that curled his lip and hardened his eyes.

  


The sword began to glow when he approached a familiar barren spread of ground. It was conspicuously bare of bodies and the aura of death. Instead, a circle of ash and glowing earth spread from a center that showed no signs of battle.

  


He set his feet in the same braced pattern of the person who had last stood here. He closed his eyes, returning in his mind to those last moments of the fight. The small, fragile human Miko, poised in the graceful posture of a woman deadly and determined, last arrow drawn, muscles taut.

  


The glow of her power sparkled on her hair and on her tears. There had been pain in her eyes...such a beautiful pain. It had given her strength to defeat the massive body of demons and the barrier between her and the hanyou, Naraku. Her immense emotional strength had been poured into that one weapon and no amount of sacrificial demons of magical barriers would keep her out this time. Her emotions had given her that strength. Never again would he see human emotion as a weakness to be avoided. She had proven her strength this day.

  


Her arrow had pierced the coward in the left shoulder, a mockery of the very wound Sesshoumaru now sported on his right. However, Kagome's purifying powers were much more lethal than the poison of Naraku's body. The hanyou had been forced to retreat, using the numbers to rise up and hide his escape.

  


Even in escape, even as grievously injured as he was, the bastard had still found the strength to laugh. He had laughed at the girl's pain and for the future plans he had for her. His laughter almost echoed across this hill top still.

  


Sesshoumaru frowned and opened his eyes. Tenseiga was persistent in its attempts to get his attention. He allowed the blade to lead him further, until he stood over three pale bodies. He frowned. _Why Humans? Why does the sword always choose them? _ They were allies, and good ones at that, so he considered the fang's request.

  


He drew the blade, interested in its now calm and expectant glow. Tenseiga never acted the same way twice. In truth, this blade was much more alive then Toukojin. It had a will so much more separate from Sesshoumaru, and the dog demon knew from experience that he was not truly the fang's master. It mocked him at times, choosing when and who it would heal without his consent.

  


He stared at the bodies at his feet. _To protect the weak, Tetsuseiga was made. To counter that destruction, Tenseiga was born..._

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome felt a faint tickling over her nose and resisted the urge to sneeze. Her eyes felt swollen and heavy, proof of her extended bout of crying. The tickle sensation continued so she opened her eyes a crack, wary of where she was and with who.

  


She found she couldn't really see anything...just a blanket of red..._red? Why would I be seeing-_ She blinked again, clearing her sleep fogged mind. What ever it was fluttered over her face, and caught lightly in her eyelashes. She squinted at it, and attempted to raise her hand to push at it. _Hair...it's hair._ She realized at the same moment that her hand was firmly pinned down by a light weight. She raised her other hand and brushed the strands from her face, and turned her head. What she saw there had her smiling in wonder and appreciation.

  


An angel rested beside her. His green eyes were closed, his face relaxed and peaceful. Half of his face was hidden by the long red strands that had blown over his shoulder from the breeze that open window let in. He was sitting in a large chair that looked suspiciously like one from the living room down stairs, but he was leaning forward until one shoulder and his head rested beside her on her western style bed. His fingers were twined with hers in a comfortable hold and were gripping her with a firmness that was light enough to not hurt, but strong enough to keep her from pulling away.

  


She used her free hand to push his silky red hair back over his shoulder and lightly traced the lines of his face with her finger tips.

  


"Kurama..."she whispered.

  


He frowned in his sleep and she allowed a small smile to grace her features. She wasn't sure when he had arrived, or even when Hiei had brought her to her room. She glanced around, sensing Hiei was gone, and returned her gaze to the boy so close to her. She smoothed the frown lines from his face, reveling in the gusty sigh it pulled from his lips.

  


Kurama slowly came awake, awareness seeping in reluctantly. He wasn't a heavy sleeper, but for some reason, when he fell asleep around this girl, he was able to relax enough to truly succumb to the heavy weight of dreamless slumber. He opened his eyes, expecting Kagome to be asleep still and was surprised to see her silver-blue eyes gazing into his own emerald eyes very closely. It almost reminded him of the moment in the well, when the fox kit had tripped him up...only this time, there was three inches of space tantalizing him to close that distance between them purposely.

  


She blinked once slowly, her eyes lowered to his mouth and he knew she was remembering the same thing. Before she could pull away, he gave in to his curiosity and desire and softly brushed his lip across hers, much the same way she had shyly done before she had left for the feudal ages.

  


He pulled back before Youko could attempt a take over and watched her struggle to fully awaken. He couldn't help but brush another kiss over her mouth before sitting up fully and waiting for her response.

  


She smiled shyly at him and squeezed his hand in hers. That was all it took. No words were said, no plans made. Nothing else was needed. As soon as she was sitting up too, he pulled her into his embrace and just held her. She was hurting and he didn't know why.

  


"Kagome," he said in his soft voice, "What happened?"

  


She immediately burrowed closer to him, hiding her face against his chest, trying to keep the fresh wave of tears at bay.

  


He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes, trying to give her what she needed most right now. When she began talking, he felt the conviction from both Youko and Shuuichi that she would never have to face her grief alone. He would stay beside her until she no longer needed him. He just hoped that is some way, she would always want him near...

  


******************************************************************************

  


Fhew! Ouch...my fingers...sniffle sniffle...

  


It seems that I lost a few of my faithful reviews along the way...I miss them...I guess they got bored and didn't read the last few updates...but, I did get some more new reviewers! Yeah! And thank you! I like knowing that there are people out there reading this and enjoying it!

  


I can't say much because the story is moving right along...I will be updating normally...once a week. NOT five chapters next time. Sigh. I don't have enough written to keep that up. 

  


Well, read and review! If you got this far, I would like to hear from you!

  


Thanks go out to

  


ixi

Delphine Pryde

Inu Youkai-Hime

tessa3- how do I write long stories? I lead a very boring life! Lol

Yanou

Dee-chan

Kuro Eien Haybusa

Star Protector Angel-go ahead!

shiningcrystal

Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe

tarah- the fifth chapter was just for you! The nudge and hint won me over!

Kuramasgr1123

Ai Higeki

Draco- I wrote you an e-mail in response to your review, but it was sent back to me...I am glad that I managed to catch your attention with my story. It means that I did my job right! That you didn't expect much and still got to chapter 36 is gratifying to me! I love it when I can entertain the readers enough for them to want more. However, desperate measures are not necessary for me to update! I do so once a week at least. And always in multiple chapters! And I loved your review! So please, fuel my ego more!

Sapphire Lotus

Dark Topaz

SiriusAboutMarauders

Sesshomaru13-what do you mean "What??"

Twilight Millenia-gasp! Third time!? O.O that is so awesome that you could read this thing three times all the way through and not get bored!

Artemis the Goddess

CallousDiva

Kat

chinita

Star Silver Fox

Helen- you got my e-mail...but if any other questions pop up, feel free to ask!

Hotoshi-Kid

LadyArilyia-snickers

wondering idiot- well, Youko is now quite infatuated with the heroine!

lindsay- I tried to e-mail you, but it sent it back...sorry! I'll try again later...

  
  



	42. Many Reasons to Cry

First, a long author's note...you can skip this if you like.

  


Okay people, before sharing your displeasure at my tardy update, I want to inform you that you should be glad that I was able to update at all. 

No, this is not a self-righteous proclamation. It is an observation about my own stupidity. The in-laws went camping this weekend with myself in tow...(I love to be outside!) And in the mountains, it is COLD! No big news there, right? Keep reading...though it may sound like a random jump in topics, keep with me here. I am a dedicated insomniac. Have been since I was 12. Being somewhere new only intensified this rather unremarkable quality to my being and instead of going into the well heated, well lit, and quite comfortable camper the family provided, I stayed outside...in the cold, wet (it rained), dark of the great out doors seated on a lopsided log near a cheery fire.

As I sat there, can you guess what I was doing? Writing on the remaining chapters of this story, do you say? Yes! I was writing and enjoying the peace and the clean air, and the virtual solitude you find in the mountains at 4 am, (Unless you count the various rodents or stray packs of redneck natives that thundered through twice).

As the fire died to pleasantly glowing embers, I got steadily colder. No shit, right? So what did my brilliant mind come up with for a solution? Go inside? No. Put more wood on the fire? No. Get a blanket? No, these solutions required effort and I've mentioned before, I have a bit of a lazy streak! No, what I did was get closer to the fire. So, here is the crowning moment of my stay in the mountains...I lit my notebook on fire.

Gee, go me. Sigh. I, quick thinker that I am, stared at the bright lick of orange that quickly identified itself as "hot" to my numbed fingers, and dropped the edge of the book...into the corner of the fire....Yeah, I know. Good one. At least it fell in the ashes and it quickly suffocated on the slightly damp pages not already eaten by the greedy flame. At that moment, I was glad of the drizzle that only seconds before I was cursing.

But, there is good news here. Everything was salvageable, well, everything but my pride. At least at 4 am, no one saw my glorious dance of 1) shock 2) fear 3)self loathing 4)relief and 5) sheepish self-pity. So, if the incident could forever be banished to some distant corner of my mind where no one but Hiei (and him only with the lurking threat of the dragon of darkness flaming my already sore rear) could painfully extract the information, why am I now telling you?

Hn. I have no fricken clue.

Perhaps I'm a magnet for ridicule, indulging my humourous and perhaps slightly masochistic side and I think by sharing this moment, you'll either understand my pain, or laugh your ass off...either way, enjoy the story...and try not to mind the extra crispy parts... 

  


Mostly Fluff...a slight (and I mean slight) break from the extensive amount of action and plot twists that are finally coming together! This story was planned out in advance because of the complexity of twining these two story lines together in every way I could think of! I wanted to say that Youko is NOT revealed yet...sorry. But very very soon, I promise! He is a bad fox! Sneaky...Manipulative...and very much in Love...er Lust...yeah. Well, anyways, Kagome is still not free to go off into the Makia or Reikai for that last shard...But again, very very soon! She has to go find Shippo first...poor kid is all alone and Kagome thinks her other team members are dead..sob.. The Yu Yu Gang has yet to catch the elusive Dog Demon Kurama has been tracking...hehehe. The barrier is still falling apart. Naraku is still alive and still has his part of the jewel, and Boton and Inuyasha have yet to return to the present...so, all in all, there is still much to be done! A lot of these things will be happening very quickly so you may have to pay extra attention!

  
  


Again, I do not own any part of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho:

  


And reviewer responses will be at the end of the last chapter.

  


Sylvannastar

  


Many Reasons to Cry

*****************

  


Shippo woke up curled in a small tight ball near Rin's outstretched fingers. He sniffed the human's hand, not surprised to find her covered in the scent of wild flowers. She had found him in the garden and had done her best to comfort him. Shippo had rebuffed her attempts at first, but undaunted, she plunged on, telling him that he could always stay with her. 

  


Shippo hadn't realized how much he actually had in common with the girl. Sure, they had become good friends, and great playmates, but neither had taken the time to talk to the other before this. She had lost both her parents too. She had been all alone, just like him. She had been adopted by Sesshoumaru in much the same way that Kagome had taken him in. They both traveled the lands on their own adventures. They were both little kids who had gotten a second chance at life due to the charity of the adults that loved them...

  


A noise at the door had Shippo scurrying to stand over the human child he now felt so close to. Eyes wide and tail perked, he waited for the door to swing open. Hoping it was Sesshoumaru, here to tell him Kagome had come for him. He was disappointed to see Jaken's grey-green face peering in at them.

  


The toad's big bug eyes narrowed at the children. The human was asleep, wilted flowers spread in random disarray around her. "Hmph!" he groused. "Stupid human."

  


"Take that back!" Shippo growled softly, protective of his new friend. There was no cause for the ugly youkai to be insulting Lady Rin when she was doing nothing wrong. His tiny nose wrinkled as the bared his little fangs at the toad.

  


"Huh?" Jaken said in surprise. "Not a chance, brat. I don't know why Sesshoumaru-sama took that baka ningen in," he scowled. 

  


"Grrr!" Shippo felt his hair standing on end in indignation. He hoped it made him look bigger.

  


"What do you think you're gonna do?" the toad taunted.

  


"Fox fire!" Shippo snapped and engulfed the toad in the magical blue flame. "Ha! Take that!"

  


"Awwk! Stupid brat!" Jaken ran around, patting the charred portions of his clothes and skin. He grabbed his staff of heads and pointed the grinning ugly faces at the defiant fox. "I'll fry you!"

  


Shippo's mutinous face glared at him in defiance. 

  


A sudden image of Sesshoumaru flashed through the demon toads mind. His master would not like it if he broke his last orders...again. He could hear the echo of those smooth words still. _Jaken, I expect you to ensure that the children are not harmed in any way. If I smell a single singed hair when I return, be warned, I will be taking your incompetence out on you_.

  


"Awwk!" the toad dropped the staff and slowly turned around. "Stupid kids..."

  


"Oy! Where are you going?" Shippo asked the demon eagerly. "Does this mean that I won?" He adopted a pose reminiscent of Inuyasha and hovered over Rin's oblivious form until he got bored.

  


Shippo nodded and settled comfortably against Rin's back. "Feh!" he said for effect, and grinned.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Inuyasha, look!" Boton pulled the dog from his slumber against her back. "Let's stop here for a while!"

  


"What?" he looked around, expecting a village or something but found...nothing. "Why here?" he peered at her.

  


"Look there!" she pointed down.

  


Then he spotted it. A hot springs steamed invitingly below them. "Aaah...." he groaned thinking of Kagome's annoying insistence on daily washing. _The affliction to continuously scrub oneself must be a futuristic quality, _he mused. 

  


"I can have a bath!" she announced brightly. "I'm sure that I must stink."

  


Inuyasha automatically sucked in a lung full of air. "...not at all," he assured her.

  


She turned half around to look at him, surprised at his compliment. "I don't?"

  


"No."

  


She gave him her biggest, brightest smile yet. "Still, I would feel better if I bathed."

  


"Feh. Do what ever you want."

  


She brought them down to the ground and their transportation vanished in her capable hands. Inuyasha carefully surveyed the area before pronouncing it fit enough to stay at. The scent of several lesser demons was weak, but by their particular odor, he could tell they were of the unintelligent, animalistic kind, that like most wild things would avoid them if possible.

  


They didn't have much to set up a camp. Inuyasha could easily live off the land and so far, had easily provided Boton with any necessities. Hunting had become an obsolete factor of his life with Kagome since she was rather self-sufficient enough to carry all her gear in her pack. He had to admit, it felt nice to run and join the chase again. He had missed the natural rush. And Boton never failed to praise him when he accomplished any menial little task.

  


Even after a few weeks in his company, she was content to feed his ego and praise his skills as a "mighty hunter". It was a bit over done, but he liked her enthusiasm for his simple accomplishments none-the-less. It made him feel appreciated and needed. Her easy nature and pleasant attitude was relaxing and lifted him from the clouds of gloom and depression that threatened to consume him in an unguarded moment.

  


Even now, she was humming a lilting tune in casual disregard for her slightly oppressive surroundings. Her continuous good mood should have started to grate on his nerves, but strangely enough, there was such a natural grace to her behavior, it seemed only proper for her to be as she was.

  


He was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to notice that he was hopelessly staring. Boton cheered at herself, content and surprised by her crush's avid attention being focused solely on her person. She smiled at him and gathered herself together. "Inuyasha, I'm going to the springs now," she sang out.

  


He nodded stupidly, golden eyes fastened on her candy pink gaze.

  


"Will you stay close by?" she asked him.

  


Inuyasha immediately plopped on his but in shocked surprise. Kagome and Sango issued death threats if he were to even look in the direction of where water was when they bathed. Boton was an enigma to his frazzled brain.

  


"Cl-close?"

  


"Yeah...in case there is trouble, will you?" she smiled innocently.

  


"Will I?" he repeated.

  


"Rescue me..." she clarified.

  


"B-but your bathing!" he turned pink. "Naked..."

  


She gave him a weird but patient look. "I'd rather be embarrassed than dead." 

  


"Oh."

  


She tapped her foot and waited...and waited...and waited. He stared at her, eyes wide, ears flopped comically in two random directions. "Well?" she finally crossed her arms at his continued silence.

  


"Huh?"

  


"Will you come and rescue me?" she huffed.

  


"Feh! Ah, I mean, of course!" he straightened his posture and made a great show of appearing confident and nonchalant. 

  


"Hmm..." she hesitated to leave now, but the hot springs beckoned her like a siren's song. If he was near, she decided to enjoy her time at the relaxing location and leave him to worry about intruders. After all, Inuyasha was more then capable of keeping any unwanted attentions from being directed her way.

  


She smiled to herself. The dog demon was starting to get a tad protective! His lingering touches, his firm clasp around her when traveling, his constant nearness, his protective stances, his watchful eyes...It was all a work in progress, true, but still, it WAS progress.

  


If only he would realize how easily they fit together, then she could push him a little bit further and get him to actively seek out her company...But, they had time.

  


She chuckled and stepped into the clear mineral waters of the hot springs. 

  


Inuyasha never once considered spying on his companion. Her trust and reliance on him filled a place in his soul with a warmth of spirit he had never experienced before. It was like he was wrapped in emotion, all good ones that gathered all his inner grief and loneliness and transformed them into a tangible sensation of...loving...and being loved. _I wonder if she feels that way too?_

  


He settled himself at the temporary camp and poured his every effort into justifying her unshakable faith in him. There was no way anyone or anything was going to threaten the source of so much goodness and caring that had saved him from himself...saved him for her. Though she may not realize it yet...

  


Inuyasha finally admitted it. He was falling in love with Death. And he had never felt so alive!

  


******************************************************************************

  


Hiei stared at the vast fortune amassed at his feet. There was enough wealth scattered hap-hazardly in the discarded remains of the forgotten "tea" and rolling across the floor that walking could very well become a heath hazard.

  


Plink!

  


Plink!

  


Yukina's vice like grip on his small form was the only thing keeping the little fire demon from killing himself then and there. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, would give anything to have her smile in his general direction, oblivious to her relationship to him, then to have been the cause of her suffering now. He wished now that he could take the words back...

  


Plink! 

  


He winced. Each priceless gem that fell from her tears was a dagger to his hidden heart. She had been steadily crying on him, messy hic-coughing sobs that were, to his mind anyway, a replica of Kagome's grief stricken devastation.

  


Hiei hung his head, he had known better...Now, she was in such a tormented state because of his selfish need to know her.

  


"You're my...b-brother!" she sobbed on him.

  


Plink!

  


Plink!

  


Her tear gems were nothing but proof of her pain. To Hiei, they held no beauty, no light, no worth. They were accusations and condemnations of his guilt, and her innocence.

  


"My b-brother!" she repeated.

  


"I'm sorry," he whispered, forcing himself not to touch her, not to even attempt to comfort her. The pain in his chest was a sharp reality that he confronted with his own grief stricken numbness.

It was torment of the worst kind.

  


Unknown to him, a single tear rolled down his own check, trembling uncertainly on his skin before taking the plunge. A single glorious crimson sphere falling in perfect abandon, landed near Yukina's shaking fingers. She unclenched one hand from his shirt front when the glimmer of red rolled toward her. With aching fingers, she picked up the gem and brought it closer to her puffy eyes, swollen from her extended bout of crying.

  


The sight of his tear, though its singularity was disregarded, had her looking up into her brother's face to look into the ruby eyes that matched her own.

  


"I'll go." he said, feeling almost dead inside. "You won't have to see me again..."

  


Yukina's eyes widened at that as she launched herself back against his chest. "Don't you dare leave me now!" she yelled into his shirt. "I just found you! Don't leave me alone again!" she desperately held his unwilling form, clinging to the only family she had. 

  


"But-" he began, confused.

  


"No! Don't leave! Promise me! Promise me that you won't leave me!"

  


Hiei tentatively brought his hands up to her slim shoulders. His touch was so light, Yukina almost wondered if she imagined it. Her crying stilled...

  


"Why did you wait so long to tell me? You knew, all along, you knew that I was searching for you..."

  


"I..."

  


"Why, Hiei?"

  


"I am not a good person, Yukina," Hiei began. "And you are..."

  


She stared at him in shock. "What do you mean?"

  


"I'm a criminal, a convicted felon, their, mercenary, the forbidden child, Yukina. I've killed, even when it wasn't necessary. I've done things that even I will never speak of...You deserve more form a brother then what you would get with me."

  


That was the most Yukina had ever heard Hiei speak in one conversation and the first time she had ever heard her speak of himself. She looked at him confused, worry and hurt warring for dominance. "But..." she whispered," that is exactly what I want in my brother."

  


He stared at her bent head, his fingers rested lightly on her shaking shoulders.

  


"I didn't expect a perfect person, nor did I want one. I wanted to find someone REAL. My real brother, just as he is...you. Don't you see? I want my family...and all the trails and obstacles that come with it. Hiei, I want to be able to experience the good and the bad that comes from being around others..."

  


"I don't understand," Hiei said. "Can't you understand that I'm not good for you?"

  


"Maybe..." she whispered. "But Hiei, what do you think family is?"

  


He didn't know...except that it was a bond that he wanted to strengthen between them...

  


"I didn't know myself, when I first began my search. I know demons don't usually stay attached to others for very long. Many don't grow up believing in compassion or caring for others...but I never fit in there. Here, I am free to feel! And I want to feel the love that I see when people care about each other, not because of what they gain, but what they can give. Family is caring about someone even when they don't believe they deserve it. Hiei, I want to be your sister...you are my family. Can we have that? I need my brother, Hiei. I need you to be there in my life. I was so alone before...don't make me be alone again...I'm know I'm weak, but please, stay and help me be strong..."

  


"Yukina..." with greater confidence, Hiei hugged his little sister and whispered the one thing that could make her pain go away. "I'll stay, just don't cry anymore. I never meant to make you hurt. I'll stay..."

  


"Hurt?" she sniffled. "I'm so happy!" she started sobbing again. "I have my brother!"

  


"H-happy!?!" Hiei was incredulous.

  


"Oh, Hiei," she giggled and clutched his wrinkled shirt front tighter as if afraid he may disappear. "Didn't you realize? There are many reasons to cry..."

  


"Hn."

  


That was so much more like the friend she knew, she couldn't help but smile, though it was a somewhat watery attempt. "Yeah," she agreed, "hn."

  


Hiei actually smiled and felt a trickle of warmth sliding down his own face. She had accepted him anyway. It was more then he had ever hoped for.

  


Plink!

  


Plink!

  


Damn! She was right, he smirked, there are many reasons to cry.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Oddly enough, this watery scene was the crispiest part! Heh...

On to the next chapter!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	43. Evil Intentions

Evil Intentions

************

  
  


"This," an angry woman's voice hissed, "is not the time for that kind of thing!"

  


"Saying it that way," her companion replied easily, " implies that there will be time later."

  


Twack!

  


"Focus, will you!"

  


"Gladly!"

  


Twack!

  


"Not on that!"

  


Sesshoumaru wondered again why he had revived these pitiful creatures. They were more annoying then anything else...ever since that proclamation of love and undying fidelity from the male, they had been constantly at each other's side. Except for when he was lying unconscious on the ground...

  


Sesshoumaru's growl went unheard. He looked at the youngest human he had recently revived. This one was quiet, almost unusually so, but when compared to the caterwauling the other two were insistently continuing, even Rin would have seemed demure. The boy watched them, curiosity and confusion in his bright eyes.

  


They had been traveling back to the village and the well. The trip was slow and unhurried. The threat of the half-demon was greatly diminished since Kagome's arrow had pierced through his barrier and purified the greater part of the conglomerate demon. And with the restoration of the humans, the half-healed wounds on the Lord's shoulder and the kid in tow, they were making little progress. Though mostly healed, they were all exhausted and the fatigue of their spirits and bodies was nothing they wanted to push into further extremes by forcing a faster pace, just in case they were attacked again, though it seemed unlikely.

  


Kagome's calming presence was sorely missed right now. Her cheerful but soothing nature and energy was an absent spirit that brought out the best in them all. Her every action was an effort to do what ever she thought would best help the others. And they found that they truly missed her when she was gone. Especially when Sesshoumaru had informed them of what she had done in their behalf and that she was still under the impression that they were dead...

  


So now, their intent was to find Kagome, and pull her from her wasted grief, but they were not the only ones with the time traveling Miko on their mind. 

  


Sesshoumaru sniffed out the familiar scent on the wind. Almost as quickly, he had his sword drawn and was ready to face the intruder that the others were just now sensing, with their more limited resources. 

  


Through the trees, a tall figure, conspicuously covered in a white baboon pelt appeared in front of them. All the humans gasped and quickly prepared what weapons had survived that last battle. After all, this was the same creature that had caused them to be dead no more then a few hours ago.

  


Sesshoumaru snarled at them and the figure. "Stay back," he ordered.

  


"You never were the spontaneous type..." the thing addressed him without respect. "Very unlike your brother. On the other hand," it continued, "you seem to have acquired the same fondness for humans. Tell me, Lord Sesshoumaru," the deep voice mocked, " What do you gain by allying yourself with Inuyasha's bitch? Did she promise you the jewel? Or," the thing's shoulders shook with silent laughter, "something more...fulfilling?" 

  


Sesshoumaru made no move to answer the creature. In fact, he was an unreadable statue that stood with such natural regality, everyone else automatically appeared inferior. He used this to his advantage and peered contemptuously at the thing in front of them. His silence implied that the was above answering such questions, and indeed, he believed he was.

  


When he finally spoke, the dog demon's tone was smooth and confident. "If you wish to speak with this Sesshouamru, face me yourself, Naraku. Do not insult me with this..." he allowed his lip to curl in distaste, "...toy. Or is it," he smiled now, a dangerously frightening smirk, " that you lack the ability to do so?"

  


"Kukukukuku," the puppet's sinister laughter poured from its illusionary mouth. "I may be a bit... indisposed for a short time. But, even as we speak, I am insuring such a thing does not disturb me again."

  


Sesshoumaru narrowed his golden eyes, processing the demon puppet's words and trying to decipher the cryptic comment. Suddenly he understood and snarled in suppressed rage at the implications. 

  


"Oh, my Lord," the thing bowed mockingly, "did you forget the young Miko's attachment to the kitsune brat? I assure you, she has not..."

  


"Shippo?" the woman breathed, trying to comprehend exactly what the threat was. "You bastard! You would go after another child?"

  


The figure tutted. "My dear slayer," it said, "I won't have to! The miko will return for the brat, and" he chuckled, "She will walk right into my arms!"

  


No one even saw the dog demon move. The puppet was simply laughing one moment and missing it's head the next. "He's at the well!" he snarled at the others.

  


"She's defenseless!" the man behind them cried out.

  


"Hurry!" the woman said, already moving. But, they knew they were at least a day away from the Bone Eater's Well yet...

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome smiled to herself when she wriggled around to find a more comfortable position and felt Kurama's arms tighten around her.

  


"Don't do that!" he sucked in a breath.

  


Kagome pouted prettily but settled back against him. "My leg is asleep," she explained. She turned her head to the side and met his eyes. That particular vivid green she associated with his eyes was now ringed by a shade of gold. The effect was beautiful...but strange.

  


"Kurama...." she began, a look of confusion brushed across her features." ...your eyes-"

  


He cut her off by pressing his mouth to hers. She melted into him, her question forgotten and thoughts scattered in the wake of his skillful onslaught. He knew that now was not the time for this particular discussion. With her nerves already raw from recent events and her world crashing down around her, this would have to wait. And, if she came to love him, really love him, perhaps she could forgive him.

  


"Mmmm..." she hummed when he released her. Kurama enjoyed the effect he had on her and pulled closer.

  


Kagome kept her head tucked under his chin, the silent moment sweeping a calm peace over her. His presence sent a warm light to the dark corners of her mind, freeing her from the guilt and pain she thought would never cease. _Sango, Miroku...I'm sorry._

  


She heaved a tired sigh and rubbed a circular pattern over Kurama's shoulder with her finger tips. "I have to go back."

  


Her touch was sending ripples down his spine and was driving him crazy. He pressed her fingers with a free hand to still them and frowned at the opposite wall. When she stirred in his arms again, he pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head. "When?" he asked her softly.

  


"Now...soon. I have to find Shippo...he must be so scared." She cuddled into him, breathing in his scent and trying to block out the dark and bitter events of yesterday.

  


He growled, distressed at the thought of her leaving and of the danger that would once again surround her. He choked back on a useless protest. Even Youko knew better then to step between a female and her pup. He composed himself and stroked her back. "So soon?" he sighed.

  


She nodded, the top of her head bumping his chin. "Kurama?"

  


"Hmm?"

  


"There are many dangers in the past. I won't lie to you...but-" she hesitated. "Many demons have come after me. I expect that they will continue to do so. My life has been threatened before, But I have always survived and I will not back down now. I won't let myself be beaten, not without a fight...And, I-" she squeezed him tight, "thank you for giving me something else to fight for..."

  


Talk of threats and danger had Youko in a regular temper. Kurama held him back, giving her that space that she needed to adjust to these changes.

  


When he didn't say anything, she worried that she may have misinterpreted the course that their relationship had headed. His quiet voice suddenly broke the silence and immediately sought to alleviate that fear and his words made her smile.

  


"I won't let anything harm you. Let me protect you..." he said into her ebony hair. 

  


"I've heard that before!" she giggled.

  


"Let me come with you," he persisted. "I would keep you safe."

  


"I know..."

  


Kurama felt a heavy weight in his chest. "But?"

  


"I need you here."

  


He closed his eyes, memorizing every bit of contact he had with her.

  


"Kurama, I know that I don't know everything about you..." she smiled secretly when she felt him tense. "But I trust you completely. That is why...I need you to do something for me. Something important."

  


The serious lit in her voice had him pushing her away until he could meet her silvery blue eyes with his steady gaze. He patiently waited for her to continue.

  


"Those demons, they are always after the Shikon." she stared at him, indecision bright in her concerned expression. "I can't take it with me..." she looked at her hands wrapped in his. "Would you keep it for me...until I get back with Shippo?"

  


He blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that from her. He knew how important the jewel was...and this spoke louder then words how much trust she had in him that she could ask this of him.

  


He saw a tear slide down her cheek. He wiped it away tenderly. "If you do this," she whispered, "they will come after you...There is always some evil looking for the jewel."

  


"I will protect it, Kagome, until you return," he whispered to her, emotions chasing through his eyes. It was hard for her to ask this, to knowingly place him in danger. But he felt a strange mixture of pride, guilt, tenderness, love, fear and concern. Her eyes spoke volumes about how much she felt for him, and the pride he felt was in direct reaction to her obvious and complete trust in him. Yet, the guilt stemmed from the same source, since he had yet to tell her about himself...she was trusting a thief...a demon thief ...with the Jewel, and with her life.

  


He hugged her close and let her cry again. Her tears burning a path through his heart. "Let me hold you until you have to leave..."

  


She clung to him tighter and sobbed out her sorrow, for lost friends, and for an uncertain future, relying on his strength to keep her from falling apart inside.

  


******************************************************************************

  


The wind blew the stench away from the two pale figures standing tense in the shadow of the forest. The ground in front of them was a slime covered mess, tinted black from the massive amounts of blood shed that had dried in gooey patches on the surface of the land.

  


Severed limbs and heads lay discarded in disjointed piles, their flesh pealing and bones pitted. If the gore wasn't mind boggling enough, the sheer numbers of dead was enough to make the deity of death gasp in horror.

  


"What could have caused this?" Boton asked her companion in a whisper.

  


"I-I don't know."

  


Boton jumped when a small greenish demon jumped onto the body in front of her and went to work. She recognized the creature as a spirit world employee. It used it's energy to detach the soul from the body for transport into spirit world when a ferry girl of death would then come to collect them. The modern era had disbanded the creatures a few centuries ago when they learned that not all souls came back whole... She scowled at the creature as moved closer to the hanyou at her side.

  


"Stay close, Boton," Inuyasha told her. "What ever did this may still be around."

  


Boton crowded as close as she could without hampering him in case he had to draw the Tetsuseiga. "We should keep going. I changed my mind, I'm not ready to camp yet..." she pulled her oar back from the ethric beyond and quickly pulled her feet up from the tainted earth. "Come on..." she coaxed the dag demon.

  


In one easy leap, he joined her, arms returning around her waist automatically in one smooth motion. "Let's go," he agreed from behind her.

  


"Yes..." she shot out of there as quickly as she could. "Hold on," she reminded him.

  


"Hmmm..." his hold on her tightened as they flew away from the carnage.

  


"Do you think your friends were involved?"

  


"I don't know," he repeated, worry evident in his golden eyes. "I just don't know..."

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kurama waited until Kagome was preparing to jump into the well before he allowed himself to let his control slip a little.

  


The Youko in him was apparent in his gold rimmed eyes when he snatched her back from the brink of tumbling into the ancient well and closed the distance between them with a passionate kiss. Her response was just as hungry as his and fueled the leaping flames of his desire to claim her as his for as long as she would have him. "I don't want you to go," he whispered when they broke apart.

  


"I have to," she answered, pleading with him to understand. "Shippo needs me..."

  


"I need you!" he pouted.

  


She smiled and kissed the full lower lip that he presented to her so enticingly. The kiss picked up right where the last had left off and continued until an annoyed "Hn." had them pulling apart.

  


Kurama's eyes flared to a full blazing gold color as he looked over Kagome's dark head to the seemingly unconcerned fire demon casually leaning on the door frame. Kagome's small frame shook in his arms and he glanced down, concerned that she was crying again. Her blue eyes, however were full of laughter and concealed humor.

  


"At least it wasn't my mother...or even better, grandpa!"

  


He grinned and pulled her into a tight hug. Though they were just beginning to truly know one another, they had been in some sort of physical contact since she had awoken. A simple touch between them was a connection that neither seemed to stop themselves from indulging in. "So you are saying that you wouldn't mind Hiei walking in on-"

  


"Don't finish that thought," she warned him with a slight frown on her face though her eyes still sparkled with amusement. "I refuse to share."

  


"Hn." Hiei complained from the doorway. "Don't drag me into your conversation." Hiei took a closer look at the boy and noted the yellow eyes. "Or anywhere else for that matter, fox," he added.

  


Youko flashed a good natured smirk on Kurama's normally well composed face.

  


"We have to go," Hiei announced.

  


"A mission?" Kurama asked, serious again. His eyes faded back into the shadowed green.

  


"Same one. Seems that the demon we were after before has crossed the barrier again. No one has caught him yet. Koenma wants you to try to track him again."

  


Kurama hesitated, his indecision easily read in his concerned expression. He couldn't shake the feeling that he shouldn't let her go. That he should hold onto her for all he was worth and guarantee her life would be safe as long as he was there and could fight with every last breath that was in his body. 

  


He looked down at the girl still hugged protectively in his arms. She no longer looked so lost or alone, but the sadness and grief lingered in her face.

  


"Go," she pushed him lightly. "We both have responsibilities to take care of right now." He watched her balance herself on the well rim again and saw the whispered goodbye on her lips before she was swallowed by the blue light.

  


He sighed. He already missed her.

  


"I see you have finally confronted her," Hiei said.

  


"It wasn't a confrontation, Hiei. It was...a bonding." he laughed at the fire apparition. "Not everything is a battle to be won or lost, you know."

  


"Hn." Hiei answered skeptically, though he couldn't meet the fox's wise eyes.

  


"Shall we go and find this dog demon then, my friend?" Kurama followed the koorime from the well house.

  


"Hn," Hiei snorted. "You find him and I'll take his head."

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome landed on her feet and scrambled to the top of the well in higher spirits then when she had left. But, when she reached the top of the well and faced the empty clearing, her heart dropped to her feet again. A silent and desolate depression washed over her and her shoulders and head drooped in unhappy lines. She kicked aimlessly at the tall grass and faced the fact that there was not going to be any one here to greet her this time..

She faced the village and stood still, trying to bring her thoughts back into focus on the important matters.. She missed her kit. She knew she hadn't been coherent enough when Sesshoumaru flew her to the well to plan ahead before this. So, they had not spoken of her departure, of her eventual return...For the first time, no one would be waiting for her... 

  


Kami, was she wrong.

  


Kagome had time to suck in a breath before everything went black....

  


******************************************************************************

  


Don't worry! There is another chapter!

  



	44. Mikonapped

Miko-napped!

***********

  


A short distance from the massive slaughter of demons left over from Naraku's attack, Inuyasha's sensitive nose picked up several familiar scents.

  


"Go lower!" he demanded suddenly.

  


Boton immediately dived, certain they were being attacked by the way Inuyasha's voice had become so suddenly loud and gruff.

  


Inuyasha smacked his nose on the back of Boton's exposed neck and gravity pasted him to her back. When she righted them moments before hitting the ground, he yipped in relief. A few gulping breathes later, he considered pealing himself off of her. He decided he liked being closer to her and quickly abandoned that idea.

  


"What! What is it?" she looked around fearfully.

  


"I can smell my brother."

  


"Oh?"

  


"That way," he pointed. "I can smell Miroku and Sango too. They were leaving the battle..."

  


"Oh, Good! That must mean that they are okay," she breathed in relief. "Right, Inuyasha?" She didn't get a reply so she turned partially around to see his face. His eyes were closed, ears twitching slightly as he focused on his sense of smell. "Inuyasha?"

  


"I can't smell Shippo or Kagome..." he sniffed.

  


"Maybe they didn't come with the others."

  


"No. Sango and Miroku wouldn't leave her unprotected. And Shippo..." he frowned. "Wouldn't go anywhere without her."

  


"Where do you suppose she is then?" Boton sounded worried.

  


"There is only one way to fond out. That way," he guided her.

  


"Will we catch up to them?"

  


"Not today. This scent is at least a day old. We'll catch them tomorrow though."

  


"Okay," she nodded and took off again. "I hope that everyone is okay..."

  


"Feh! They are too stubborn to die. I'm sure they are fine..."

  


But Boton could hear the barely concealed worry in his tone and feel the tense bars of his arms encircling her. She wasn't sure who he was trying to reassure more...her or himself.

  


******************************************************************************

Kagome woke up with her head pounding. Her brain felt like it was being hit with a hammer with every beat of her heart. _Ouch..._she thought. A moan broke form her lips before she could contain it.

Her mouth was dry and chapped, her lips which had been stuck together were now forced apart by her involuntary movement, causing tiny rips to appear in the skin and staining her mouth crimson. _Where am I? And how long have I been here?_ She wondered, attempting to wet her lips with an equally dried tongue. _First priority...water. _Kagome tilted her head to the side causing the throb of her headache to increase. _Scratch that...Tylenol...definitely Tylenol. _

As soon as she managed to right her equilibrium, she realized that her priorities were severely screwed up. Water and Medicine were small matters to what mayhem was now befalling her accident prone form. The where, why and who surely needed to go to the top of the list...

"Hello?" she croaked. The sound of her voice in such a state was shocking and she considered placing water back up near the top so she didn't have to hear the scratchy hoarse sound be admitted from her own throat again.

She tried to force her eyes open but found them covered with some sort of cloth. A shuffling sound broke the stillness in the silent room. She tilted her head to the side, trying to follow the faint noise with her limited human senses. "Who's there?" she breathed, trying desperately to get a fix on her surroundings. 

A gentle touch, barely felt, on her neck had her jerking back in surprise. A shudder of terror washed over her, turning her pounding head to thoughts of fear and worry. Her Miko powers weren't working! She could feel her priestess energies swirling inside of her with no outlet...The roiling emotions and confusion this revelation caused send her one step closer to the edge of panic.

"Kukukuku! So you are awake now, little human..."

_I know that voice...that laugh...oh God, No! _Kagome could feel her captor's evil aura sizzle where it came in contact with her own energy. She tried to grasp at her throbbing head and found her arms limited by several feet of cold chain. She sucked in a dep breath, the metal clinking together as she struggled.

Cold cuffs encased her slender wrists, the sharp edges cut into the chaffed skin. She ignored the warm trickle of blood that resulted from the fruitless struggle and tugged angrily at her bonds. "What do you want with me?" she demanded angrily.

She stopped her wriggling when she felt a hot breath on her cheek. Face pinched in horror, she lashed out blindly with her feet, trying for any sort of painful connection she could make on the bastard.

"Kukukukuku!" the figure breathed.

She shuddered, wanting to wipe away the foul touch of that breath.

"What do I want...Kagome...isn't it?"

She winced and gritted her teeth.

"Where are the jewel shards?"

_The shards! _Kagome thought, panicking before she reminded herself that Kurama had them.

She laughed then, a soft bell like sound of genuine amusement that had her worrying for her own sanity. She could feel the surprised withdrawal of Naraku's youki before it exploded around her with the stunning force of his anger. Her head snapped back when his fist connected with her chin. Almost instantly, she felt the cool darkness descending back down around her.

When she came to, minutes later, she found her already unbearable headache had intensified and that she could taste blood in her mouth. She had bitten her tongue, its raw pain throbbing in time with her jolted brain.

Noticing her stirring, the evil youki threatened to smother her again as Naraku appraoched. "You will tell me where the shards are." he demanded. 

Pinpointing his direction by sound alone, since her eyes were still covered, she spat blood at him, hoping for a score.

The low growl was terrifying and strangely satisfying. _Yes! _She cheered to herself. _Got him! _

This time, the fist wasn't all he limited himself to. Kagome bit back a scream as razor sharp claws dug into her shoulders.

"Bitch!..No matter...you will tell me. I have my own methods of...persuasion." Kagome could hear the smirk in his voice even if she couldn't see it.

"Go fuck yourself."

She heard a chocked gasp from the monster in front of her and had to remind herself that in this time period, women never said such things...if they talked at all. She grinned, her bloodied face twisting in a lopsided manner due to the swelling from his earlier blow, think of all the curses and expressions her modern vocabulary could muster together on such short notice.

"Interesting..." the dark voice murmured. "I wonder, is that even possible?"

Kagome almost killed herself then and there, choking, and saving Naraku the bother. "Sick bastard..."

The claws dug deeper, pulling a reluctant whimper from her. "Don't make this more difficult...Kagome. Tell me where you have the shards."

She snorted. It was obvious he had not understood the meaning behind her previous phrses and had taken it, well, literally. She shuddered, repulsed by the demon's closeness, and intentions. She decided to try a more common phrase he's understand. "Go to hell."

A short silence had her worried. Then, Naraku loosened his hold on her, pulling his talons from her skin in slow increments. "Tell me, do you mean to say that the shards are in hell, or," he dug the claws back in, deeper then before, "are you insisting on drawing this interrogation out by insulting my being?"

"Take-take your pick!" she hissed. "Either way, you will lose this battle, you-"

"So you will not tell me the location of the remaining fragments?" His voice was low and dangerous, as he released her and stepped back.

Kagome couldn't help herself. "Awww! You win a cookie!" Though he didn't comprehend her strange phrasing, he knew sarcasm when he heard it. This time, Kagome didn't even feel the blow, she just sank into darkness....

******************************************************************************

"Inuyasha!" Boton gasped as he jumped off the oar flying quickly through the forest. She came to an abrupt halt, scanning the forest floor in concern.

She followed the flash of red and silver until she found him cradling a furred body in his arms. The fluff turned out to be a cream and black two-tailed cat. "It's Kirara..." he said, sensing her hovering behind him.

"Is she okay?" Boton watched the shivering ball with worry.

"I think so. Looks like she's been following Sango's scent..."

Kirara pried open one red eye and recognized Inuyasha. She quaked in his arms, and mewed pitifully. Part of her fur was dyed a sticky red from a deep gash scored through her side.

"Oh, my!" Boton jumped down and snatched the neko youkia from Inuyasha's tentative grasp.

"Hey! Be carefu-"

Boton ignored him and focused her powers on the cringing cat demon. A soft glow consumed her hands.

"Oy. She ain't dead yet," Inuyasha protested.

"I'm healing her, not killing her!" Boton huffed.

"Oh..."

Boton sighed and rolled her eyes. Just because she was a deity of death didn't mean she was all about killing things. In fact, dead things gave her the creeps...ironic, ne?

Kirara struggled when the wound finished closing and examined herself, and her two rescuers. She blinked her large orange red eyes at then and mewed again.

"Kirara, you okay?"

"Mrrr..."

Inuyasha placed a hand on Boton's pink clad shoulder and bent down to get a closer look at the revived Neko youkai. "Hm. You look fine. Can you travel?"

Again the affirmative purred meow assured the moody dog.

"Right. Let's go then." Inuyasha waited for Boton to work her magic and settled behind her again, the exhausted cat curled in a loose twist n the Ferry Girl's lap.

"It's obvious something happened," Boton began tentatively. 

"I know," Inuyasha replied.

"Do we have to follow their scent?"

"What? Why?"

"Well, it's just that I could go faster, you know."

"How fast?"

Boton smiled and lifted them above the treetops. "Hold on now," she remarked. She pointed them in the general direction they had been traveling previously and gripped her oar tighter in her fists. "Here we go!"

Inuyasha closed his eyes as they were jerked forward, he almost demanded that she take them back so that he could retrieve his stomach which seemed to have been left behind..."Next time," he gulped, "I'm steering."

Boton giggled madly and ignored the blurred earth tones whizzing past, beneath their feet. "Don't worry Inuyasha," she called over the force of the wind, "We'll be there very soon!"

"F-feh!" was all he managed.

Her answering chuckle sent his heart tripping through his chest.

"Feh!" he repeated, but with more amusement then gruffness. She certainly knew how to soften his attitude...and harden his resolve. He nestled his chin on her shoulder so he could see where they were going and used his proximity as an excuse to smell her intriguing scent.

Boton turned her head in surprise a the suden contact and found herself kissing the demon dog's suddenly pink cheek.

She puleld back. "Oh, dear," she murmurred.

He blushed brighter but stayed where he was, eyes directed ahaed and ears half cocked in the wind. " S'okay..." he muttered.

She grinned and place a very deliberate kiss in the center of the very reveling blush in the exact same place as the last accidental one. "I know."

"Feh!"

She merely laughed again.

******************************************************************************

Sesshoumaru ended up carrying the human boy as they neared the end of their panicked journey to the Miko girl's well portal. The other two, though also human, were doing a passing job of keeping up with him. Even in his weakened state, he was still faster then they were.

He was no easy target nor did he take his growing debt to the human girl, now being threatened, lightly. As they grew closer to the village of the old shrine priestess Kaede, Naraku's scent increased in its rancid potency.

This threat was very real and could have very troublesome consequences should the hanyou spider succeed in what ever maligneat plans he was concocting against the Miko. Sesshoumaru tried again to incese the pace, but even he could not maintain the speed he needed to beat the real Naraku to the well.

Sesshoumaru cursed Naraku in his head, a red rage slowly infiltrating his practiced calm. The poisoned wound in his shoulder had finally healed over, but he was weakened. The constant activity and fighting had even worn him down. And now, with three humans, he couldn't create a cloud of his youki to ride upon like he had to take Kagome back to her home after the battle. _That damn demon would pay, this Sesshoumaru will guarantee that!_

_******************************************************************************_

Okay, guys there was over eighty reviews last time, so I can not make too elaborate responses here...but THANK YOU for reviewing and encouraging me to overlook my own self-made obstacles to post again! There will be a four or five chapter update next time to make this up to you! I'm so sorry for breaking my run of updates and making you wait. It shouldn't happen again... unless some catastrophe befalls me, I will be back on track for weekly updating!

So, there is much more to come and keep reading!

To my reviewer...I didn't mean to make you cry! Well, yeah I did...but still, it was supposed to be emotional so I guess I did good! 

okay! Here we go!

This was dedicated to my MOTHER since she knows of all the stupid things I've done that easily top the dropping the story in the fire thing....and since she does read...but doesn't review, Sigh. She calls me instead! Hehehehe. And , my little brother who would review if the stupid Navy would invest in a computer that worked!

And thanks to:

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Dee-chan

Alfugae

Shanghai

aznfangurl6

Shinigami Clara

Chiisana Kitty

Amy

Niku

BabbleQueen

shade

mj=k

Kurama and Hiei's lovable Miko

Laura Ann

Hebi Youkai

silverl

Inu-Anime

tidlewave-the-fox-demon


	45. Youko's rampage

  


Sorry about this second late update, but its that time of year. I had a HUGE concepts of art history project to finish and then a week sick followed by a week to play catch up! So, this weekend I was out of town to see A Perfect Circle and it was an awesome concert! Now, I am back to writing and updating and I have some free time to type and post. Well, there is only one chapters here because it is so much longer then normal, so enjoy! And for you Youko lovers...this is leading to where Kagome finds out that her guy is, in fact, three guys...Go Kagome! Anyway, after this update, the Spirit Detectives are off to the Spirit Realm to look for the last free Shikon Shard and...Kagome gets Sword lessons. Hn. There will be another update this weekend of at least two more chapters IF I have time between school assignments. Finals are approaching....and teachers are cramming the last minute assignments now.

  


Well, anyway, here is the first of two...

  


Sylvannastar

  


Youko's Rampage

***************

  


Boton landed in the deserted center of a familiar village. The streets and homes were eerily silent. The weight of the stillness was oppressive and even effected Boton's cheerful spirit.

  


"Where is everyone?"

  


"Naraku..." Inuyasha growled.

  


"What!? Here?" Boton was quick to hide behind the figure in red. The kittenish Kirara transformed into her larger form and scoured the area for traps and danger.

  


"No, but he was here. I can smell him everywhere..."

  


"But why would he be here?"

  


"He wants the jewel shards..." Inuyasha replied.

  


"But Kagome has...oh, no!"

  


Inuyasha didn't wait for the oar. He tore out of town as a pace that could rival Kouga, and set a path for the old Bone Eater's Well. Boton was fast on his heels, with Kirara watching their unguarded backs.

  


Unknown to them, approaching from a slightly different direction, the heroes of the battle with the hanyou Naraku were speeding toward the same destination, where they were all fated to meet again...

  


******************************************************************************

  


"We're almost there," Sango gasped. "Just a bit more, Kohaku."

  


"Okay..." the young boy panted.

  


Sesshoumaru put on one more desperate burst of speed and landed in a crouch just outside the tree line. He scanned the area quickly, and finding no immediate danger, jumped over to the well in one bound.

  


What he found there made him hang his head, chin touching chest, while he waited for the others to catch up. His senses told his tired mind that they were close, but another form, approaching from the east intruded upon his silent thoughts. Unsure of the origins of the huge ki approaching very quickly sent the taiyoukai to his feet. It almost reminded him of his brother, but this feeling...was huge.

  
  


Sango, Miroku and Kohaku stumbled out of the brush, panting heavily but with weapons raised, prepared for trouble. They followed the alert gaze of the dog demon and without a word, turned to match him. 

  


A blur of red and silver shot right past their upraised arms and came to a skidded halt mere inches from the old wooden well. "Kagome!"

  


"I-Inuyasha?" Sango asked wide-eyed.

  


Sesshoumaru stared in shocked surprise at the hanyou frantically searching the clearing for his woman. His pale features were twisted in lines of worry and concern. Here, the whelp he had previously discarded from his thoughts as weak had transformed into a creature with a power that could likely rival his own. He narrowed his own golden eyes at the half-breed and wondered what had changed. _Could his love for a human girl have caused this jump in his powers? Can emotions intensify one's power when all this time I've hidden my feelings away?_

  


Inuyasha's eyes slid right over them, still searching for the miko. "Where's Kagome?!" he demanded.

  


"Gone," Sesshoumaru finally spoke. "She is gone."

  


"What?" Inuyasha whispered.

  


"We were too late..." Sango breathed and turned into Miroku's comforting arms.

  


"What?!" he asked again with more force.

  


"Naraku," Miroku explained it all in that one hateful word.

  


Inuyasha stared down at the crushed grass around the well. He could see her footprints, a wider patch where something large had been, and the slight hint of blood at one corner of the area. He launched himself closer to it, sniffing determinedly. "He hurt her..." he growled.

  


"Yes," Sesshoumaru agreed. He had been able to smell the faint trace of blood as soon as he had arrived in the clearing. It was a small amount, but still, it was not a good sign.

  


Boton crashed through the trees ans tumbled off her oar and into Sesshoumaru's solid form. She smacked her nose on the plate armor and winced. "Oh...hi," she said lamely and took two small steps back. "Sorry about that."

  


Inuyasha found himself temporarily distracted by Boton's close contact with Sesshoumaru and discovered that his emotions were skipping painfully between panicked worry for Kagome and raging possessiveness for Boton.

  


"Boton!" he snapped.

  


"Huh?" she turned her innocent eyes on the half dog.

  


"I-You-Feh!" he got her attention, now he didn't know what to say.

  


"As amusing as this may be," Sesshoumaru snarled at his brother, "now is not the time to be concerned about your potential mate. Your other wench is in danger," he reminded the wide eyed hanyou. 

  


"Mate!?" Boton squeaked and stared at Inuyasha's flaming face. "Wait...other _WENCH?!" _She turned a heated glare at the older dog demon and hissed a warning he ignored. "What has happened to Kagome, as I assume that is who you are referring to?" she demanded, ignoring the verbal insult the inu youkai had uttered so easily. Boton quickly took in the others, Miroku and Sango wrapped in each other's arms. "She's gone, isn't she?"

  


Miroku nodded, his pale face scrunched with worry. Here he was, the woman of his dreams cradled in his arms, and all he had to do to get her was to die and be brought to life...and tell her that he loved her. Somehow, Kagome's story didn't seem to be ending quite so happily.

  


"We have to find her!" Sango said in a hard voice. "We can't just stand around here! Besides," she announced, looking Inuyasha in the eye, "if he took Kagome, he'll have most of the jewel now too. We have to stop him before he puts the new shards to use and gets even stronger."

  


Boton listened with growing apprehension. "What will you do?"

  


"We'll find her. We have to." Inuyasha exclaimed loudly.

  


"There is no guarantee that we will discover his whereabouts before he permanently damages the girl," Sesshoumaru stated coldly. "Once you leave this clearing, the amount of maisma cancels out the scent of their trail."

  


"We still have to try!" Miroku took the liberty to snap at the pessimistic youkai.

  


"I wasn't suggesting otherwise. I was implying that it would be best if we do not run out and randomly hope that fate puts us on the right path."

  


"I can do something," Boton announced quietly.

  


"How?" Sango demanded of the strange girl who was standing close to Inuyasha's side.

  


"Well, ah, not me, really..." she stammered under the four assessing looks she was receiving. "Ah, Koenma-sama may be able to help. He has lots of tools and things....If anyone would be able to find a fast way to discover this Naraku's hideout, he would."

  


"Fine. Let's go," Inuyasha grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the well. "I'll be back as soon as I can!" he assured them.

  


Boton could feel the hanyou's frustration and worry rolling off of him in waves of energy. She wisely offered no protest to his rough handling and forgave the hurried treatment, but tried to give him hope that the girl would be found.

  


He tossed her into the well, waiting for the blue light to envelope them both and carry them across time. As soon as he hopped back out of the well, Boton opened another portal and they found themselves in Koenma's office.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome fought her body, doing what she could to keep from allowing herself to slip back into consciousness. The darkness, unfortunately slipped away on shadowed feet, leaving her once again aware of her aches and pains and her surroundings.

  


"Up again?"

  


Kagome tried to remain still, but her buzzing senses and the deep twinges of pain from her bruised flesh made it impossible.

  


"Shall we resume where we left off, Kagome?"

  


"Feh!" she snapped the Inuyasha-ish expletive out of reflexive anger.

  


"I see..."

  


Kagome tensed, waiting for a new assault against her body. After a few minutes, she realized that he wasn't going to retaliate. At least not physically.

  


The shuffling of feet on stone and clothing rustling warned her of impending contact with her captor. To her surprise, the blind fold was roughly torn from her head, taking several strands of dark hair with it. For the first time since her abduction, she was able to look upon her surroundings and at the evil form of Naraku himself.

  


She jerked back in surprise. _That bastard is grinning at me! Looking at me as if I were his best friend! _The cold pull of the chains testified otherwise to her tired mind.

  


"My dear child," his smooth voice rang out," there really is no need for us to be enemies."

  


_The gall! _Kagome knew she was close to going into shock. Lack of food, water, blood loss, and emotional stress could really drain you. That he could say such a thing when she knew what he had done to her friends...to the people of this time...Sango's tear streaked face and Kohaku's shocked expression was followed by the anguished face of Miroku clutching his wind tunnel in despair. Inuyasha flashed by behind her eyes with Kikyo standing silently behind the dejected looking dog. They were not to have suffered for nothing. She knew that she would die before she revealed the location of the jewel. 

  


With the thought of the jewel came the regret of not being able to see Kurama again. A small smile flitted across her swollen lips. The thought of him could make her smile even now...she knew then, that she loved the man waiting for her in future...she loved him, and she would never be given the chance to tell him. But, he would be safe. That thought alone would give her the strength to resist Naraku and his tortures.

  


Kagome suddenly wondered if she could purify Naraku from her spread eagle position against one stone wall. As soon as she allowed her energy to pool in her hands, she felt it sucked away from her.

  


Eyes widened in shock, she stared at her shaking fingers. _My miko powers were..._

  


"I don't suggest you do that again." Naraku laughed. "With as much energy as you have already lost, Kagome, it would be unwise to push your limits. Every time your powers flare, which I must admit the persistence with which you attack, especially when you are not even conscious to direct an assault, surprises me. Kanna has been ever ready to insure that you are little threat to me."

  


Naraku gestured to the side and Kagome followed his movement with her eyes until they rested on the pale albino apparition, Kanna, One of Naraku's first detachments. The girl with the mirror that steals souls, and now, Miko powers as well.

  


Kagome couldn't contain the swift spike of despair that rippled through her aura. Kana's mirror flamed brightly in response. 

  


"The more you struggle, the more energy you lose." Naraku informed her. His eyes narrowed when she smiled.

  
  


"Really?" she said in a soft voice. "Then you have provided me with a way out after all."

  


"How is that, my dear?"

  


She grinned like a fool and called on all the depths of her strength and yanked them to the surface.

  


The energy rise in the room was so great, everything was shoved outward, away from the glowing Miko. Ominous cracks appeared in the walls and ceiling.

  


"Kanna!" Naraku yelled, furious over the girl's sudden attack. The child like youkai held out her mirror and sucked in the growing swirl of energy peaking in waves around the room.

  


"That's right!" Kagome laughed bitterly, knowing that she would rather die then allow anyone else to be hurt by this monster. "Take it all in, and when I'm gone, the Jewel will be forever lost to you!"

  


Naraku then realized that Kagome wasn't attacking. She was committing spiritual suicide! He lunged at her, knocking her out again with an overly enthusiastic blow to her stomach before he raced over to the youkai girl. The miko's powers were still being consumed.

  


"Naraku-sama," her quiet voice whispered. "The mirror will not hold much mo-" she was cut off as Naraku came up behind her and swallowed her back into his body. The mirror fell to the floor where it sparkled and glowed in the dim room. Naraku glared at the object and then at the source of all this trouble. He had not had any intentions of reabsorbing Kanna so soon...He stalked over to Kagome's unconscious form, lifted her head up by her long dark hair and smacked her hard with his other hand. In his rage, he hit her twice more before a tiny random spark of her remaining purifying energy burned into his skin.

  


With his energy still low from her arrow strike a few days before, he knew these new burns would be slow to heal. So, he retreated to the other side of the room and glared his hatred at the woman child dangling limply from her bonds....

  


******************************************************************************

  


Boton's portal dumped her and the hanyou on Koenma's desk.

  


Stamp!

  


Thunk!

  


Inuyasha looked cross-eyed at the red mark marring his nose and read the upside down kanji for "Rejected" "Why you-" he hissed in anger.

  


"Boton! You're back!" Koenma cheered and hugged the disheveled ferry girl that was lying on her back under Inuyasha's tense form, with her head hanging off her bosses desk.

  


"Koenma-sama!" she said desperately and tried to push the stiff dog demon off of her. "We need help!"

  


Just then, the door swung open and the four spirit detectives strolled in. Yusuke and Kuwabara were bickering in the lead with the calm and placid faces of Kurama and Hiei right behind them.

  


"You've never beat me before! What makes you think-Boton!" Yusuke gasped at the tangled mess of limbs piled on the desk top.

  


"What in the-" Kuwabara blinked dumbly.

  


"Koenma!" Yusuke dragged the toddler off of his employee's arm where he had been keeping a death grip on the girls hand.

  


"Boton's back!" the spirit ruler chirped happily. "Now I can rest and relax again!"

  


"B-but, Sir!" Boton cried out.

  


"Did the mission go well?" Koenma turned to Yusuke and ignored the girl who was getting dizzy from having all the blood in her body rushing to her head.

  


"No." Yusuke answered.

  


"Didn't catch him, huh?"

  


"No."

  


"Hmmmm..."

  


"Sir!" Boton struggled under the hanyou's weight while he continues to scrub furiously at the red mark on his nose.

  


"Were you able to find out anything?"

  


"Only that he's good at covering his trail."

  


"SIR!

  


"Oy!" Inuyasha suddenly snarled. "Shut up about all that stupid stuff!"

  


"Huh?"

  


"SIR!" Boton's loud ringing yell finally got his attention. "Get off me!" she hissed at Inuyasha.

  


"Feh!" he sat up and pulled her tousled form with him.

  


"Sir," she began again. "We need help."

  


"Kagome's been stolen," Inuyasha butted in, eyes blazing angrily.

  


"What?! By who?!" Koenma jumped back on the desk and looked the dog demon in the eye.

  


"Stolen?" a deep voice spoke, it's low tones focused and dangerous.

  


"Naraku took her." Inuyasha ignored the others and focused on the kitsune spirit who's youki had just jumped over ten times its original power. He recognized the possessive aggression as that of a mate protecting its own and respected that bond and claim above even the station that Koenma had.

  


Youko consumed Kurama's form with his own bestial take over, revealing the full grown silver fox in all his glory. His eyes blazed a deadly red and his fangs were bared. "Why aren't you out looking for her!?" he shouted at the dog.

  


"Because we don't know where he took her!" Boton insisted with frustration. "Koenma, you must have something that we can use to track her!"

  


"No, not since the orb broke...unless Yusuke's demon compass can be set to find Miko energy..."

  


Youko grabbed the compass from Yusuke's wrist, tearing the strap in the process.

  


"Ow..." Yusuke rubbed his wrist and stared at his friend's transformation in a state bordering on awe.

  


"Fix it now," the fox's dangerous tone never changed.

  


"Y-yes!" Koenma hurried to comply and exited the room and ran in fear from the explosive fox.

  


"Hurry!" Boton urged the child ruler.

  


As soon as the door swung shut, Youko snapped his eyes back at the hanyou. "Tell me."

  


Inuyasha hesitated, wondering where to start. He wasn't sure what the fox already knew...

  


Youko took the hesitation as a personal insult and grabbed the hanyou by the shirt front. "Tell me!" he snarled.

  


"Despite current appearances," Hiei said quietly, though you could see his own rage was barely held in check, "Youko can be trusted. I'd stake _my_ life on that."

  


Inuyasha snarled back at the fire demon and the fox gripping his collar tightly in one solid fist. "I know that! Kagome's trust in you is proof enough of that! I just wasn't sure where to start from!"

  


Youko dropped the dog and backed away. After all, the mut had recognized his claim and his right to know to about his future mate's predicament.

  


"Well?"

  


"What did she last tell you, and I'll start form there," Inuyasha offered as Boton fussed with his clothes and straightened the non existent wrinkles. 

  


"She was mourning the death of her friends, the exterminator and monk."

  


"Mourning them?" Boton paused in her concerned pampering. "What ever for?"

  


"Because they died, stupid!" Hiei ignored Inuyasha's warning growl.

  


"But they aren't dead! We saw them less then ten minutes ago!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

  


"Are you calling Kagome a liar?" Youko asked softly.

  


"No! I am just saying that they are not dead!" Inuyasha counted aggressively.

  


"They must have been brought back to life," Yusuke offered wisely. "After all, it is what happened to me..and to the corpse woman that you guys went after, but in a different way..."

  


"Back to life?" Inuyasha blinked. "That's right! They were with Sesshoumaru!"

  


"So?" Hiei demanded.

  


"So, he has Tenseiga! The healing sword..."

  


"That's right!" Boton said relieved, "He must have revived them."

  


"And then what happened, dog?" Youko grew impatient.

  


"We got back to the village after tracking my brother's scent back form the battle grounds and found Naraku's scent everywhere. We knew that he would be after the shards, which meant after Kagome, so we ran to the well."

  


"She does not have the shards," Youko said in a deadly calm voice.

  


"What?"

  


"I have them. She left them with me."

  


"What!?!"

  


"Continue, dog. What do you know about her capture?"

  


"We reached the well at the same time as my brother and the others." Here, he hesitated again.

  


"And?"

  


Inuyasha continued to hesitate.

  


"You best answer, fool," Hiei growled his own warning.

  


"I could...smell her blood..."Inuyasha whispered.

  


Youko felt his heart pain him and drop down into his stomach. This news made him feel physically ill and he found himself holding his breath in panic.

  


_Oh, god! _Shuuichi's voice whispered in his thoughts.

  


_Youko! _Kurama added his plea to the human's silent suffering.

  


_Bring her back! _The voices melded and begged him. _Bring Kagome back to us!_ _We love her...we can't lose her now!_

  


Youko saw red and his raging energies cracked around him. In a silent snarl, he ripped his own hole in the barrier and departed without waiting for Koenma's return. Hiei was swift on the fox's heals.

  


"Shit," Yusuke sighed as the makeshift portal closed. "There is no stopping them now."

  


Koenma rushed in and threw the device to Boton. "Well," he hissed, "Hurry up and save her before Youko destroys everything!"

  


"Yes, sir!" Boton opened another portal and she and the dog demon quickly disappeared.

  


"Wait! I'm coming too!" Yusuke shouted.

  


"No you are not! I need you here!" Koenma yelled back, effectively halting Yusuke's lurch forwards.

  


"Ah, Damn it!" He watched the empty space regretfully and hung his head. "Good luck, guys..." he whispered to the air. "Good luck..." 

  
  


******************************************************************************

  


well that's all till this weekend! I know that it is only one chapter but I have a night class on mondays and didn't get to start typing until after ten, so ....till later!

  


I will address the reviews this weekends, but thank you for reviewing anyways! Thank you!

  


Sylvannastar

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	46. Parting Ways

Hey everyone! Here is another chapter. Things are moving slow because I'm trying to organize things for the holidays and register for classes and write because I have once again caught up to what I have written out! Reviewer responses are after the last chapter.

  


Some of you have been making some very good guesses about how things are going to proceed, but remember, this is already set up and outlined! Everything happens a certain way for a reason!

  


The was a concern that Kagome wouldn't be the type to commit any type of spiritual suicide-I think she would. She would do it for everyone else if her death would save them. She knows that Naraku would destroy everything if he had the complete jewel. Countless lives would be lost. Somehow, I could see her taking her own life before she would willingly cause harm to others by letting him get the jewel. Somehow, self-sacrifice might be a better term, but it amounts to the same thing.

  


Kanna's absorption leaves the mirror unattended. The mirror is full of Kagome's miko purifying powers. And it will play a part in the upcoming events. 

  


This story is taking so much longer then I expected it to and it will take a while to finish, so I'll keep writing and posting and one day, it will be completed! Then I can edit and add the pieces that I took out and maybe spice it up some!??! 

  


There have been several people asking about an e-mail to tell them that I have updated...so I'm gonna get to making a list of people who want me to do this and create an e-mail account just for that. If you want to be informed, let me know!

  


Well, anyway, on to the story

  


sylvannastar

  


Parting Ways

**********************

  


Naraku spent the remaining part of that day brooding over the prone form of the Miko from the future. Her occasional power flares were weakened now and posed little threat, but after her earlier explosion of purifying energy, he remained a cautious distance from where she dangled senselessly from the manacles.

  


Time and neglect were taking its toll on her human body too quickly for him to really have the time to break her the way he wanted to. He frowned harshly at the girl and hated the mortal weakness she represented. The mortal weakness inside of him...

  


"Kagura!" he said, calling to the wind user he had formed soon after Kanna, she was his second detachment. Unlike the quiet albino, Kagura was dark, dark and disobedient. The only reason she served him at all was because he held her heart, and any move on her part that he disagreed with was quickly punished.

  


With the threat of her death hung so readily over her head, Kagura was forced to do Naraku's dirty work. Her slavery was a bitter concoction that she fought with her subtle rebellions, wanting nothing more then for the bastard to die.

  


She swept into the door way and silently waited for his next command, seething inside about her forced compliance. Her bright red eyes surveyed the damaged human in carefully hidden awe.

  


Naraku was afraid of this human girl, and that was a feeling only the Demon Lord of the West had ever forced from the human turned Hanyou. Sure, Naraku was wary of the others, especially Inuyasha, but he was not afraid.

  


Kagura almost wanted to cheer the girl on and congratulate her, but knew any sign of her personal appreciation would bring her only more grief and pain when he took her heart in his hands and so refrained from giving Naraku any reason to torture her more. He would see this as a blatant act of defiance.

  


"Yes, Naraku?" she asked, intentionally leaving off any honorific. She had no respect for the bastard other then for his strength and cunning, and he knew it. To act in any other way would only elicit suspicion in his already cautious attitude.

  


"Watch over the girl," he told her as he started to walk out of the room.

  


"What? Me? Why can't Kanna do it?" she insisted.

  


"Kanna proved...unreliable."

  


Kagura blinked at the beasts fading back before turning back to the silent figure breathing irregularly from the other side of the room. "Unreliable?" she spotted the mirror glowing with massive amounts of energy where it sizzled uncomfortably on the floor. "Shit, she got purified, huh?" Kagura assumed Kanna's destruction came from the Miko's prone form and dedicated herself to staying as far from the girl as she could without disobeying orders.

  


Suddenly she grinned. "And it scared Naraku...Perhaps I should have a little talk with the Miko..."she stared hard at the unmoving girl, willing her awake so she could plot the bastard's demise with someone who might be able to accomplish it!

  


She smirked in satisfaction when the girl began to stir in her bonds, as if her will alone had woken her. The familiar blue of the girl's eyes raised in defiance to look around the room and landed on Kagura's still form.

  


"Kagura," the miko greeted her softly.

  


The wind user contemplated the hollow nature of that sound on the woman's lips. There was no hatred there, no trust either, but is was apparent that she was listening. The human was not stupid...

  


"Kagome..." she answered just as quietly.

  


Red eyes were held by silvery blue as they judged the other. A silent understanding cut through the lingering tension in the air, giving them both a chance to breath a sigh of relief.

  


"So?" Kagome began, prompting the demon woman into beginning.

  


Kagura's blood red lips lifted in a graceful arch as she smiled a genuine smile of hope though her eyes were still hardened by past despair. 

  


******************************************************************************

  


Youko's makeshift portal spit him and Hiei out near his human half's home. They ran to the girl's shrine house, intent on rescuing the girl and ignoring the massive amount of rules they would probably be breaking in the process. They ran in silence, seeming to flicker in and out of focus due to the speed they were traveling.

  


They arrived at the well house only seconds before Boton and Inuyasha stumbled onto the ground from Boton's more precise portal. Inuyasha wasted no time in grabbing Boton's hand and jumping into the dark hole. Youko barely spared them a glance before he leapt in to greet the blue light.

  


Hiei had a few unvoiced worries that the portal would refuse him. It was obvious that he cared for Kagome as he did for Yukina, but the bond of blood was not there and his interest in her was nothing like Youko's obsession. He had no link to the jewel so he had to trust that his brotherly affection would be enough to allow him to travel through the portal. He followed the others and was gratified to find the blue sky above him. In a moment, he joined the fox at the outer rim of the well. With his feet again planted firmly on the surface of the world, Hiei took in the feudal age in seconds. It was the Makia...just wilder and sparsely populated with humans. One of which was pointing a huge boomerang at him. He decided to give the human a warning.

  


"Hn." Certain that was enough to suffice, Hiei took to ignoring everyone in favor of carefully watching Youko.

  


Sango adjusted her grip on the bone boomerang and stared expressionlessly at the two demons that appeared unexpectedly behind Inuyasha and Boton. _What the hell is "Hn" supposed to mean?_ She wondered briefly even as she assessed the threat they could pose should they prove to be enemies rather than allies. The erratic jumping in their aura's set her nerves on edge. Sango clenched her teeth and considered the strange energy radiating off the two demons when she recognized one to be a silver fox..."Kurama?" she asked confused.

  


The demon turned his hard gold eyes on her in recognition of his name and she suddenly shuddered at his look. Youko Kurama's expression was full of vengeance and anger and barely controlled power. This couldn't be the same red-headed man Kagome had introduced her to, could it?

  


"Sango, Miroku," he greeted them in return with out a moment's hesitation. That solidified Sango's assumption of who he was. She was only too glad that Kohaku was resting quietly with Kaeda and the other villagers that had recently returned from where they had been hiding in the shrine. He did not need to see this side of world any more then he already had.

  


Youko let his eyes slip from the familiar figures of the exterminator and monk to settle on the other occupants of the clearing. He narrowed his eyes at the Dog Demon patiently watching over the entire scene. He growled, a natural warning to the other that clearly said "mess with me and die a horrible death."

  


Sesshoumaru ignored the threat and answered the challenge with an indifferent expression. "So,

he said softly so only those with enhanced senses could hear his words, "it is you who has claimed the girl..."

  


Youko tensed, the fur on his tails puffing out. "She is mine," he agreed just as quietly, waiting for the powerful dog to challenge his claim.

  


"As you say," Sesshoumaru replied easily, giving in to the silver fox's words.

  


"Hn," Hiei commented on the exchange.

  


"How the _HELL_ do you work this thing!?" Inuyasha yelled in frustration, shaking Yusuke's demon compass vigorously. He effectively ended the tense staring contest the full blooded demons where currently engaged in with his loud outburst and violent treatment of the tool.

  


Boton snatched it form his clawed hands with a scowl. "Don't do that!" she admonished and carefully set the device. After a moment's careful consideration, she pointed east. "The largest body of Miko energy is that way..."

  


They wasted no time in moving out, even dispensing with introductions and explanations. They all knew that every moment counted against them in getting the young miko back unharmed. 

  


Miroku and Sango effortlessly rejoined the healed Kirara and Inuyasha once again settling behind Boton on the oar. Sango nudged Miroku and pointed. Miroku stared in disbelief at the pair and began laughing.

  


Youko quickly took offense and grabbed the helpless monk from his seat behind the exterminator. "And what," he growled, " do you think is so funny?"

  


"Just the thought of Inuyasha getting so chummy with that woman so quickly...I used to think that he was immune to the charms of the opposite sex," he rasped.

  


"Stupid Monk!" Inuyasha snorted, hearing the hasty explanation.

  


"And this amuses you?!" Youko grumbled incredulously. 

  


"Kagome could always find something to smile about, even in the darkest moments..." Sango said softly, watching the fox carefully. "Miroku meant no disrespect to Kagome's plight. But, she has taught us to find our happy moments when and where we can."

  


"You are right," Youko agreed after a long pause, putting the shaking monk back on his feet. "She would find the humor in this," he sighed. Worry etched itself across his features, supplanting the rage with a calmer determination.

  


Sesshoumaru watched them hurry ahead, rooted to the spot near the well.

  


"Are you coming or not?" Inuyasha yelled at him.

  


He quirked and eyebrow at the hanyou. "Avidly seeking my company now, are you? He sniffed the air carefully. "No. I will check on the children first. She will want to know that her kit is well. I shall catch up."

  


"Feh! Whatever."

  


Sesshoumaru calmly watched them go before he allowed his exhaustion to show on his handsome features. If Naraku was abusing the Miko the way that he feared, she would be in a state that just may require the presence of her kit to pull her out of it. Somehow, he did not believe that Naraku would willingly let her go with her spirit intact...Shippo's need for her may be the thing that would save her from what ever that spider hanyou had planned.

  


With that concern planted firmly in his mind, Sesshoumaru considered what that implied about his debt to the girl. Instead of erasing his debt to her, he feared his involvement with these people would only embroil him further into their lives. Already his responsibility to the miko had turned into concern, implying a certain amount of emotional involvement with the mortal. And, it was hard to let go of the long held belief that emotions where nothing but unnecessary distractions. Now, he saw the strength that feelings gave to the others around him...he was quickly coming to realize that this was no weakness at all...but an untapped strength that he never knew existed...

  


It seemed he had another stunning revelation to thank the Miko for. He sighed and left the well, deep in thought, but hiding the turmoil behind his cold mask. It would do him no good to fight this new path his destiny was leading him down, but he could still take the changes in gradually. There was much to consider...

  


******************************************************************************

  


They followed the compass loyally for that first day, but it seemed as if there was no progress. After the fourth simple village Miko was identified as the compasses target, Youko lost his temper.

  


"Fool!" he yelled at the hanyou carrying the modern device. "This is leading us no where!"

  


"Shut up, Fox boy! We're doing the best we can! I'd follow her scent if that bastard hadn't tainted everything with Miasma. If you think you can do better, feel free to take your issues elsewhere. _I'm _gonna find Kagome!"

  


"Youko," Hiei warned the growling silver fox and stepped in front of his friend. "She doesn't have time for this!"

  


"I know that! What do you think I am trying to tell the mutt over there?!"

  


"Quit yelling!" Boton yelled.

  


"Where does it point to now?" Sango ignored them all for moving on.

  


"That way, now," Boton said pointing to their left. "The next pooling of Miko powers is over there."

  


"Let's go," Sango urged Kirara. The fire cat snorted in agreement and took the lead.

  


Youko stood very still as the others started to move again. This method of searching was proving worthless. He sniffed the air hopefully, but there was no trace of his love's scent. He bent all his thought to her, her smile, her face, the way she lit up when she saw the beauty of the world around her...his fear that he would never see that again coiled in a nervous twist in his stomach.

  


Then, a light tug on his senses made him turn and face south. A nagging urgency seemed to be whispering to him, drawing him away. Youko frowned and shut his eyes so he could focus on this sensation completely. It was almost like a physical pull...there was something out there that was calling to him. 

  


"Are you going to help us, or just stand around all day?" Youko snapped his eyes back open when Inuyasha sniffed this at him. "Hurry up, we got to keep looking."

  


"Hn," Hiei agreed and disappeared to scout ahead. 

  


"I think we need to go that way," Youko spoke confidently.

  


"What? Why?" Boton blinked in confusion.

  


"It just feels right," the silver fox said.

  


"Feels right?!" Inuyasha sputtered.

  
  


Youko ignored then in favor of examining the sensation that told him to move south. It was definitely a calling, and it was growing stronger. It seemed almost an instinctual presence that he could not ignore.

  


_Are you sure about this, Youko? _Shuuichii asked.

  


_Certain. She is there...and she is still alive._

  


_Then we must go after her. _Kurama's over lapping tones prodded the fox demon into moving.

  


"Youko!" Boton cried out. "Where are you going?!"

  


"I told you, she is that way. I am going to rescue Kagome." He glanced at Boton's worried face. "Follow or don't." In a flash of silver, he had disappeared into the untamed forests of feudal Japan.

  


"Youko!" Boton protested, but he was already gone.

  


"Feh! Good riddance. That fox is a nuisance!" Inuyasha huffed. "Always thinking that he can do better. Thinks that he's right all the time!"

  


Boton looked off to the forest. "But that's just it..." Boton whispered. "I've never known him to be wrong..."

  


"Come on. Let's keep moving," Sango called out.

  


Kirara obliged and Boton reluctantly followed.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Hiei stopped abruptly when he felt Youko's energy split apart from the group. "Damn it!" he hissed. He tried to lock down on his friend's aura, but he was moving too fast and with such practiced ease and stealth, he couldn't keep a fix on the fox spirit. "Damn fox,"he snapped out loud. "Doesn't he know better then to argue now?" Hiei gritted his teeth in annoyance and decided to wait for the others to catch up. Youko's abandonment could only mean that he had found an alternative way to find his mate.

  


As the others approached, Hiei sensed a strong presence moving to intercept them. The creature was very fast and had an aura strangely reminiscent of Kagome. Hiei raced away to face the potential threat and work off some excess energy and frustration on the individual who was running at them.

  


He stopped abruptly in an deserted clearing and waited patiently for the source of youki to emerge from the forest around him. A small whirlwind of dust was kicked up where the figure was passing. Hiei quirked an eye at the sight. _Could it possibly make a more obvious trail?_ He wondered snidely.

  


The thing burst into view and stopped so suddenly it left twin furrows plowed into the hard earth. "You're not a silver fox!" it exclaimed.

  


Hiei snorted and stared with hard eyes at the youkai blinking at him in surprise.

  


"You! Why do you smell like Kagome?!" The wolf youkai growled, anger pushing the surprise away.

  


Hiei's eyes narrowed at the reference to the young woman. He took no pains to temper down his arrogant tone. "What is your business here, wolf?"

  


He was answered by another feral growl. Hiei then smirked, a dangerous glint appeared in his ruby eyes. _Finally, some action, _he thought and followed the wolf's smooth movements thoughtfully.

  


"You touched her!" the wolf yelled angrily. "I can smell her scent on you!"

  


"Hn," Hiei answered in a deliberately taunting manner.

  


With a snarl, the wolf launched himself at the smaller demon and aimed a kick at his head. To his surprise, the man was faster then he thought. He missed by more then a little bit. The demon had simply stepped out of the way so quickly, Kouga hadn't seen him move.

  


Hiei grinned and decided that the wolf was quick enough to pose at least a potential challenge. "Hn," he said again. He also decided not to use a weapon since the wolf seemed to have none. He stepped aside again and stuck out an arm. The wolf ran right into the fire demon's muscled forearm and landed hard on his back. He barely jumped up in time to miss the quick fist that would have crushed his chest if it had connected. 

  


The wolf crouched and watched the smaller demon with wary care. He scented the air and gauged the distance between him and his original quarry. "Dog turd..." he murmured.

  


Hiei sensed the others long before they joined him in the clearing. When they were standing with him, looking hesitantly at the wolf in front of them, he released a long suffering sigh. "You've ruined my exercise," he muttered to Boton.

  


She grimaced and stared at the wolf youkai.

  


"You again!" the wolf shouted at the blue haired girl.

  


"Get out of the way, wimpy wolf!" Inuyasha hollered at the full demon.

  


"Hey, Dog breath! You lied to me! That is no silver fox! Kagome could still be mine!"

  


Huh?" Inuyasha looked strangely at the dark demon calmly watching the whole affair thought glowing crimson eyes. "Of course he's not a silver fox! That other guy took off the other way..."

  


"That 'other guy' is Youko," Boton rolled her eyes. "And he is the silver fox. Hiei is a friend..." she clarified and pointed at the bored koorime. "Youko is looking for Kagome that way," she waved a hand southward.

  


"Looking for Kagome?"

  


"Yeah, Naraku took her..."

  


"What!?" he yelled. "And where was her mate to allow such a thing!?"

  


"In another time," Sango interupted drily. "Kouga, we have to go, please move."

  


"I'm coming too!" he announced.

  


"What?!" Inuyasha hissed.

  


"Obviously you need my help," the wolf crossed his arms defiantly. "You need a leader on this kind of mission."

  


"Why you!" Inuyasha sighed.

  


Boton blinked, "Wow."

  


"I know," Miroku sighed. "I envy his confidence in himself..."

  


"Hn," Hiei argued.

  


"I was coming to find Kagome anyway."

  


"I thought I told you," Inuyasha grumbled in frustration, "she has-"

  


"I know," Kouga sniffed. " I heard you the first time. How could I forget?" he admitted. "But I can still hope!"

  


"It would be pointless," Hiei finally spoke up, annoyed with the wasted time. 

  


"She loves Kurama," Boton gently said.

  


"Does she?" Kouga questioned. "I have to know from her. I have to see her."

  


"That won't happen if we don't rescue her!" Inuyasha snarled at them all. "Let's go then."

  


The other's quickly fell back into step and they continued on their search.

  


******************************************************************************

  
  


Okay, Sorry it took so long to post again! But, move on to the next chapter and you'll find some more Youko to dream about, all you crazy fox fans! I have some fan art that I want to post for this story that I have sketched out and you can find it at Kinky Usagi's xover site which is also a neat place to go for YYH and IY xover lovers!

  



	47. Search and Rescue

Search and Rescue

***************

  


The further south Youko traveled, the stronger the feeling to hurry on became. His confidence in his choice also grew as he quickly covered ground. In his agitated state, he felt his Youki flare and expand. A tingling behind him made him pause long enough to throw a disgusted look over his shoulder.

  


_What a time to grow another tail,_ Youko's ears flattened to his head.

  


_What does that mean? _Shuuichi asked curiously.

  


"It means that I've grown stronger," Youko muttered aloud. "Three more tails and I'll have reached the limits of my strength." He picked up a rock and tossed it from hand to hand distracted by the voice in his head and the persistent sensation telling him that he was close. There was also something wrong about the surrounding forest. A hint of things just out of place...

  


_So that's why you have more than one tail..it's a mark of your status._

  


"Not really. It's completely involuntary. It's more like a way to warn other creatures away...and to attract a female_._" 

  


_Kagome is human. Do you honestly think that she'll be impressed by a few tails?_ Shuuichi snorted.

  


"I said it was involuntary! It's not like I chose this moment to collect another tail! And yes, I do think that she'll be impressed." Youko shook his fist in the air, the stone momentarily forgotten in his palm.

  


Shuuichi's snort of laughter was ignored. _How much further must we go?_

  


Youko chucked the rock at the scenery.

  


THUNK!

  


A bluish glow fluctuated in ripples until it mirrored the forest again.

  


Youko smiled. "About twenty feet..."

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagura paced the doorway in agitation. The Miko was sleeping in her bonds now, a small sign of the trust that the two woman were beginning to establish in each other. 

  


A hint of a smile pulled at the corners of her lips. The girl had a quick mind as well as a surprisingly strong devious streak the wind-user never would have guessed existed. They had concocted many plans and shuffled around various ideas on how to beat Naraku in his own game of deception. Now, with several ideas in mind, it was only necessary that the Miko was freed from her bonds and given the chance to rejuvenate her lost energy.

  


Setting her free was the challenge. Kagura couldn't do it without Naraku knowing. She was still linked to him in ways she couldn't begin to understand, and, he was always watching. The drone of the bees in the background made her scowl, though his lack of trust in her was justifiable.

  


"Kagura," a deep voice reverberated from the shadowed doorway. 

  


_Speak of the devil..._

  


She glanced up sharply, keenly aware that he may have been standing there far longer then she knew. She kept her face impassive and waited to see what he had heard and what he would reveal.

  


"We have a silver haired visitor at the north wall of the barrier. Take care of him..."

  


Kagura alternately winced and sighed at the order. He couldn't have heard them plotting or he would surely have done something to her by now... "What about the Miko?" __

  


"Leave her. She is too weak to be a threat now." Naraku sneered at the limp figure.

  


"Keep thinking that," she muttered and gave the wall a good long glare. If she was no longer in the castle, she couldn't assist Kagome in her escape. Things were falling apart again...and there was nothing she could do about it...except distract his attention away from the girl...

  


"Kagura! Now!"

  


"Yeah," she muttered and mounted her feather. "I'm going."

  


******************************************************************************

  


Sesshoumaru rethought his position on having children of his own. He used to be mildly against the idea. Now, he was totally against it. Though it was hard to believe, the fox cub had more energy then Rin had ever possessed. That was tolerable, but his mouth!__

  


The Kit never shut up! Now that he was comfortable with the Youkai Lord, his mouth never stopped moving...and he wasn't impressed with the youkai's presence like Rin was either, being Youkai himself.

  


"...And then," Shippo spouted, "Inuyasha made this gigantic whirlwind of Youki with his sword and-" the drone went on and on.

  


Sesshoumaru suffered through with a sigh. "If you must speak and tell stories, find a subject other then my brother."

  


Shippo was mercifully silent for all of two seconds. "One time," he started, "Inuyasha made Kagome so angry that-"

  


"Fox," Sesshoumaru interrupted without letting his mask slip. "Not about my brother."

  


"But this isn't! It's about _Kagome_! Well..." he scratched his head thoughtfully, "and Inuyasha, but I don't know any other stories. I haven't been anywhere else..."

  


Sesshoumaru sighed in defeat. 

  


Shippo grinned at him and took a deep breath. "Any how, Kagome was SO mad, that-"

  


Sesshoumaru ignored the fox kit and continued to follow the trail that his brother and his friends had left for him. When he reached a twist in the trail, he found the faint scent of the silver fox leaving the group. The Dog Demon paused and stared hard at the trail.

  


The fox had clearly separated from the others. Why was not clear. Nor was his trail going to be easy to follow. Sesshoumaru automatically knew that he would follow the silver fox. It was obvious that he was the most experienced and the strongest member of the mismatched group. Besides that, Kagome was to be his mate...that meant that he would be able to sense her on a level that no other could. If the others didn't have the sense to know this, he wouldn't follow their poor example just to bail them out of the trouble they always seemed to get into.

  


Shippo stopped talking and sniffed the air. "Kurama was here!" he said excitedly. "I can smell him! I thought I had smelled his scent earlier, but Inuyasha's smell and the others were too strong so I wasn't sure. It's a little different then it was before, but I recognize it."

  


Sesshoumaru turned to glance sideways at the fox kit. The youngster's ability to pick up that faint trace of scent was impressive for one his age. 

  


"I'm glad," he announced, surprising the Dog Demon. Sesshoumaru stared at the cub in silence. Shippo took the hint and began to explain. "Kurama will save Kagome and everything will be alright then."

  


"There are not always happy endings, child." Sesshoumaru felt the need to warn the fox, though he would have expected such youthful optimism to have been crushed under the heel of experience long ago.

  


"I know, but I trust Kurama...he can save her." Shippo spoke confidently.

  


"I hope you are right..." Sesshoumaru murmured under his breath. "She is needed yet. There are things yet to be done for her..."

******************************************************************************

  


Kagome cracked her eyes open when Kagura left, her feigned sleep abandoned. _An intruder with long silver hair? Has Inuyasha come for me? Surely someone has realized that I am missing by now..._Kagome forgot that she was supposed to be unconscious and that Naraku was still present. "Inuyasha," she whispered to herself. Her hope of being found swelled to lift her spirits and her resolve to make it through this with out giving in to Naraku's attempts to eliminate her presence in his little game.

  


"Do you dare hope for rescue?" 

  


Kagome cursed loudly at both herself and her captor. She snarled at he dark silhouette in the doorway. "You can't keep me here forever!" Her powers sparkled and dimmed in quick secession. 

  


Naraku stood very still until he was certain that she could not reach him from where she was bound across the room. "Who would want to?" he mocked her. "You are just a pale imitation of your predecessor."

  


"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it before. Inuyasha may not have ever loved me like he did with Kikyo, but he is still my friend. He'd never abandon me! He'll free me and then we'll make you pay for all the-"

  


"Poor child. Inuyasha isn't here to save you. It is just some youkai unfortunate enough to have run across my barrier." He chuckled evilly. "It's no one of any consequence."

  


"No matter! Someone will come for me, and you will pay!"

  


"If you last that long, perhaps..."

  


"What is that supposed to mean?"

  


"How long have you been here now?" he questioned absently. "I can feel you fading already. Human's are so weak."

  


"Like your condition is any better," Kagome snorted. "You're so damaged that you can't even hold the illusion that you are strong enough to face me, even bound and shackled as I am! I can see your burns and scars form here. What's the matter, Naraku? Is your human weakness showing?!" she mocked him back.

  


He slashed at her quickly with a thin tendril of his miasma. It sliced through the air and opened a burning slit across her cheek before she could put up a shield. Such a small attack should not have been able to reach her had she been any where near normal form... her natural energy would have disintegrated his attack in seconds, but she was no where near her best. She hissed in pain and berated herself for baiting him when she couldn't make a move to defend her self.

  


She glanced up and met Naraku's eyes. He was breathing harshly and gripping his shoulder where her arrow had wounded him before. She couldn't contain her ironic chuckle. "I don't think you could do that again if you tried."

  


Naraku's sour face was a pleasant change from his taunting and harassing. It confirmed her suspicions that he was as bad if not worse off then she was. Suddenly, he smiled slightly. "I do believe you are right. However, as a demon, I am certain to recover so much faster then you and I will not carry the scars as you will. I have marked you, Kagome," he smiled more. "And a few days rest will heal me completely. I wonder what your condition will be when I return?..." with that said, he swept from the room and headed for some hidden place to rejuvenate and reform. 

  


Kagome cringed and sucked in a breath. Her cheek stung from the Miasma. Her blood loss and her weakened powers were trying hard to diffuse the poison, but it was slow and painful. And she knew that the bastard was right. He was going to take a short holiday and return as if nothing had happened, while she had a feeling that this hell was going to haunt her mind and body for a long time to come...if she lived that long.

  


******************************************************************************

  
  


Youko tested the barrier in several ways before even approaching it.

  


_So, this is where it pays to be a thief..._Shuuichi sighed.

  


_No. This is where it pays to be the BEST thief! _Youko replied. He checked the barrier for several more minutes in silence.

  


_Well? Can we get in? _Shuuichi asked impatiently.

  


"It's not a question of CAN we get in, it is simply in our best interests to get thought in the best possible condition that we can. We do not know this enemies strengths, or what else we may face when we DO get in." Youko spoke loudly in response to the edgy feelings Shuuichi was radiating when he was trying to concentrate. He knew he sounded pissy, but the human was getting really annoying. He had a comment or a question for everything!

  


Kagura watched first in amusement and then in wary horror as the bright kitsune stood there prodding the barrier with a stick and talking to himself. She was very relieved that it was NOT Inuyasha, but then again, was a crazy kitsune any better? She blinked at his shining form and wondered what he did that made his aura so bright. The fox glowed and the sun glinted off from his gleaming fur. 

  


"Shut-up, already!"

  


Kagura frowned and looked around just to be sure that there was not another youkai there hidden away from sight. She saw no one and shook her head. Obviously this poor creature was demented. She wouldn't feel so bad if she had to destroy it since it was so delusional, it might not even notice she was taking it's life. She smiled and wondered if Naraku realized that this was not dog demon she had been prepared to face. He probably did, which meant that he had sent her out just to get rid of her presence for a time. So, he was either torturing the girl some more, or hiding himself away to heal, since he didn't trust her like he did Kanna he would never let her know where he went. She smirked and decided to get this over with.

  


Kagura opened her mouth when she saw the Kitsune do something incredibly strange. Words temporarily failed her.

  


"Shut up! Shut up or I will KILL you and take myself with you!" The fox looked he was about to strangle himself with his own hands. A long silence followed that bellowed statement until he shouted out again, "It would be worth it!"

  


Finally, he relaxed and rolled his shoulders as if shaking off a heavy burden. She couldn't help but notice the rippled muscles under the loose white clothing. She sighed. _I must really be desperate if I am considering the body of a demented fox. _The silver ears twitched comically and the youkai stretched and sighed. _Yup, I'm desperate_...

  


"Finally, some peace and quite," Youko muttered. "To work!" he poked at the barrier again, sending shimmery blue ripples out in waves. 

  


_WHY must you continue to do that? _Shuuichi asked quietly_._

  


Youko scowled. He had told the human to be quiet so many times that he couldn't count them. Just when he thought that he had succeeded, it started again. It really didn't matter WHY, but try to tell the human that.... "It's pretty..." he answered just to annoy the boy.

  


_Good God, Youko! Tell me that you are NOT just wasting time looking at a pretty light when Kagome NEEDS-_

  


_JUST SHUT UP ALREADY! _Kurama screamed, losing his composure for the first time in many years._ HE WAS OBVIOUSLY JOKING! HE IS WORKING AND YOU ARE THE ONE STOPPING HIM FROM FOCUSING!_

  


_There's no need to yell._

  


Youko heard a fake quiet sobbing and seriously considered forcing his soul out of this body and attempting to find a new one.__

  


Kagura stepped back when she saw him poke at the barrier again and mutter to himself, "It's pretty."There really was something seriously wrong here. Though he acted and spoke like an insane animal, his aura was peaceful and the energy he gave off was purely rational. __

  


"We don't know what we will face when we get through..." Youko repeated.

  


"You will face me, stranger," Kagura said calmly, allowing the cloaking part of the shield drop so he could see her.She was calm and unperturbed until the Kitsune's eyes rose to meet hers through the semi transparent barrier. What she saw in his eyes scared her more then the random babbling he was spouting earlier. _His eyes are completely sane! ...and cold. _

  


She saw there, death and amusement. A combination that only came with perfect confidence. She was confused, but hid it behind her confidence in her position.

  


"Indeed," he drawled.

  


Kagura looked him over slowly_. _"I'd hate to have to destroy you," she murmured.__

  


Youko did not miss the appreciative look in her eyes, but somehow, he remained completely unaffected. Kagome had spoiled him for any other. No one else would ever capture him the way she had. If there had been any doubt in the fox's mind, this moment vanquished them. He was meant only for the woman that he had traveled across time itself to rescue.

  


"When I step through this barrier, you had best hope that I am in a forgiving mood, lady." Youko never took his golden eyes from hers.

  


Kagura burst out laughing. "You are just going to step through Naraku's barrier?!"__

  


Youko took a measured step forwards, his cold eyes holding hers steady. She continued to smirk...until he took another step.__

  


The smile left her face and she now eyed him distrustfully. "What are you doing?" she demanded sharply.

  


Youko narrowed his eyes. The breeze changed direction abruptly, whipping his long silver locks into his face. Any question about what kind of demon she was, was dispelled. Her emotions were effecting the wind with out her conscious thought. He moved again.

  


"Stop! The Miasma-" she closed her eyes and winced as the beautiful fox demon took that last step into the barrier wall. She didn't want to look, certain that there was a mess. "Fool," she whispered.

  


A strong hand wrapped firmly around her neck. Another gripped her wrists together before she could defend herself. Her eyes snapped open in surprise and fear to meet the steady blazing of the kitsune's stare. "Care to repeat that?"

  


"How did you-" her words were cut off as his hold tightened.

  


"I can see the barrier spell...and it's holes." he took in her scent with care, now that the barrier was gone. He finally found what he was looking for. Concrete proof that he was on the right course. Kagome's faint scent clung to this demon. He growled dangerously.

  
  


Kagura felt herself quake in fear. After all that work, planning, she was going to die now at the hands of some random youkai...never having tasted freedom. After all the things she had suffered, all the torment...Kagura was past the point of tears. She gave in to her anger instead. "Who are you?" she snarled back.

  


His fingers immediately tightened again. "Where," he demanded with at firm shake, "Is my mate?"

  


"What?" she coughed until he loosened his grip. "I don't know what you are talking about!"

  


"Lies! I can smell her on you!" he shook her again.

  


Kagura gasped and tried to pull her hands free from his grasp so that she could use her fan. Her struggles were useless. It appeared that all that muscle wasn't just for show..."I don't know what you are talking about!" she repeated hoarsely. "The only person I've been around is-" Kagura stopped struggling in sudden realization. "Kagome," she whispered.

  


Youko snapped her sagging form back up. "Yes! Kagome," he agreed. "Tell me."

  


She winced and met his eyes. "I can do better then that..." she whispered. "I can show you."

  


Youko considered this, wary of a trap.

  


"But you have to promise me something..."

  


Youko raised a haughty brow and snarled again. "You are in no position to be making demands."

  


Kagura ignored his clawed fingers at her throat. "If you really are her mate," she said, "on her very life, you have to promise me that you won't leave her alone again. You can't let Naraku destroy her..."

  


Youko blinked in surprise. The other demon met his eyes defiantly and...honestly.

  


"Why?"

  


"She is strong," she explained, "But not strong enough. She'll need you when the time comes..." Kagura hissed in a breath. "We have little time! Promise me!"

  


"I vow that I will not leave her to face these dangers alone," he said seriously. He released her neck and hands, removing her weapons in the process.

  


"Good enough," she backed away a few paces. "Follow me, and hurry."

  
  


Youko easily kept up with the woman, watching and remembering the path that they were taking, ensuring the return trail would be simple to follow. _Almost there, _he assured his companions.

  


_Hurry, _Kurama urged.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"What is wrong with that thing!" Kouga shouted. "I thought you said that it would find Kagome!"

  


"Don't you ever shut up?" Hiei muttered. The wolf's brash and overconfident attitude was really annoying the fire demon.

  


"It can!" Boton insisted.

  


"South it is then," Sango said sharply and turned away from the frustrated group. They started to clean up their supplies from where they had stopped to rest and take some food. 

  


"South..." Miroku repeated. "Isn't that the direction our other friend wandered?"

  


"Yeah," Sango sighed and rested her head on Miroku's shoulder. "I get the feeling that we probably should have followed him to begin with." Miroku rested a hand on her back and strangely enough, it didn't wander. She smiled tiredly and let him hold up her weight.

  


"Hn. You are correct, human," Hiei said from the tree top to their left before disappearing in a blur again.

  


"Why?" Miroku asked curiously.

  


"He loves her," Sango answered simply.

  


Miroku blinked and then smiled sheepishly. "The bond of love," the monk mused, "it drew them together across time and space.."

  


A snort of disgust reached their ears from another tree top.

  


"Not the romantic type, is he?" Miroku asked the slayer.

  


"And you are?" Sango asked drily. 

  


"Ouch! You wound me, Lady Sango!"

  


"I'll wound you, you hentai houshi is you don't quit blabbering and start moving," Inuyasha yelled.

  
  


"Quit yelling. It's undignified," Boton scolded him.

  


"Yeah!" Kouga yelled. "Stupid dog!"

  


Boton calmly bashed him in the head with her oar.

  


"Ouch! Who do you think you are!?" he rubbed the rising bump in anger.

  


"I," Boton started into his electric blue eyes, "am Death..." She turned away and tugged lovingly on Inuyasha's ear.

  


Kouga's eyes widened. Then he scowled. "No need to be so dramatic," he whined.

  


"I don't think you understand, wimpy wolf," Inuyasha smirked. "She really is Death." He caught the other demon's eye. "Really."

  


Kouga stared and swallowed heavily. "Oh..."

  


"Well," Boton sighed, "let's go. We still have a lot of distance to cover."

  


Everyone prepared to leave once again, each thinking their own troubled thoughts.

  


******************************************************************************

Kagoem fought to remain awake. Bitterly, she yelled at herself. Naraku was right, she was slowly dying. Now that he had said something to bring her attention to it, the pain, hunger and thirst she had been blocking had returned with full force to torture her.

  


She bit her lip bloody, trying not to scream in frustration. She focused her blurry vision on the mirror, still spiting power from its position on the floor. "If only," she sobbed angrily. _If only..._

  


Thinking about the regrets and turns in her life was useless, but she couldn't help reminiscing. The life flashing before her eyes was an exaggeration. It was more of a slow motion play where the loved ones in her life wandered in and out to whisper to her...She found herself thinking about Kurama and how much she missed his. She wondered if he would ever know that she hadn't meant to abandon him...She saw him smile in her mind. She longed to hold him again, run her fingers through his silky hair. Her vision swam. Strangely enough, thinking about him warmed her. She could almost feel his familiar aura surrounding her.

  


She smiled grandly. At least I'll die with a smile on my face, she thought. Figure that one out, Naraku! With that, Kagome sank back into the oblivion of sleep.

  


That is where Youko found her...

  


******************************************************************************

  
  


I want to thank everyone who has made it this far and is still supporting my efforts! I have one more chapter up so keep reading!

  


( the tails thing is because I thought Youko had NINE tails as well, but at one point in the show, they show him with three...and I've read a few descriptions of him with five...the adding of tails was from an idea a reviewer encouraged me with. Thank you Hebi Youkia !!! : )

  


^ ^

/ . . \

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	48. Silver Savior

Silver Savior

**********

  


Youko tenderly gathered the unconscious girl into his arms after picking the locks on the metal cuffs around her wrists. She sagged into him bonelessly as soon as she was free from the restraints. Youko trembled in relief and anger. The condition that he found her in filled him with a pain that tested the very limits of his control.

  


"I'll never let him touch you again," he whispered against her dark hair. "I swear, I'll protect you."

  


She murmured incoherently against his chest.

  


"You have to leave," Kagura snapped. "Go."

  


Youko shifted and lifted Kagome into his arms and tossed the wind users weapons to her. He waited until she looked up. "Thank you," he said.

  


She looked surprised, then smiled wryly. "Just remember your promise. If you keep her safe, you'll be helping me more then you know..."

  


Youko nodded and made to leave. The sparkling of Kanna's mirror on the floor caught his fleeting attention. He stood over it with Kagome held tightly to his chest. He could feel the powers in it, and knew that they were a part of the woman against him. "Is this...?" Youko didn't finish but stooped to take the mirror in one clawed hand. It singed his fingertips and he pulled back abruptly.

  


"It is," Kagura confirmed, "But no one with demon blood can touch it now...Kanna was the only one that could control that mirror. Now, Kagome's powers control it. You must go."

  


Youko scowled at the thought of leaving any remnant of Kagome here in this place. The only thing that cheered him is that this Naraku character would be unable to approach the object either. He turned to go.

  


_Wait! _Shuuichi's voice made him pause again. _You can't touch it, but I can._

  


_What are you saying?_

  


_Let me out. I'll get the mirror and set it with Kagome, then you get us out of here. You won't have to touch it._

  


Youko considered this. He really disliked the idea of leaving it. What if Kagome needed that? He decided rather quickly and set the girl in his arms down gently.

  


"What are you doing?!" Kagura shifted unhappily from foot to foot. She was answered by a mist and light that emanated from the body of the Kitsune kneeling beside the sleeping Miko. When the air cleared, she was startled to see a human boy with long red hair and bright green eyes staring at her. He calmly scooped the mirror up and tucked it into the remnants of a cloth that was part of the debris littering the room. He placed it in the crook of the Miko's arms and lifted from the floor. 

  


"I'm ready now, Youko," the boy said.

  


The mist and light reappeared and the silver fox stood gleaming in the shadows with a smirk on his face. "Thank you, Shuuichi." 

  


Kagura blinked and tried to figure out what just happened. Either he was talking to himself again, or he was two people. And judging by what she had just witnessed, she decided which answer best fit. _So, he's not crazy after all, _she thought looking him over. _To bad he's mated..._

  


Youko nodded to her once more and then left. The castle vanished quickly in the distance. When he came to the barrier, he searched for the pattern in the spell and tested each hole until he found one big enough to fit both him and his burden before it shifted and disappeared. Once he had her secured on the other side, he pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin and began to run.

  


He had to find a safe haven to settle in so that she could heal. And he had to find it fast.

  


******************************************************************************

  


"Eh?" Boton stopped her oar in mid-flight, the forward momentum flung Inuyasha into the trees ahead. The resulting crash and curses made the others stop in concern, or in Kouga and Hiei's case, amusement.

  


"Oy! What the hell was that for?!" he yelled up at the ferry girl hovering above them. She dropped down to the ground quickly and ignored the hanyou to hurry over to the fire demon.

  


"Hiei! What do you think of this?" she asked his excitedly and pushed the demon compass under his nose.

  


Hiei focused on the device. "Hn.," he answered with a soft tone.

  


"That's what I thought too!" she gushed. "It's okay Inuyasha!" she sang out happily. "Youko's found her!"

  


"What?"

  


Boton handed him the compass and danced a few steps around him. "Oh! I'm so relieved!"

  


"Are you sure, Lady Boton?" Miroku eyed the compass spinning madly in Inuyasha's clawed grasp. 

  


"Pretty sure," she answered. "Read the meter. She's the only one I know of with that much Miko energy."

  


"Hn," Hiei agreed.

  


"So where is she?" Kouga insisted.

  


"I don't know. HE's moving with her," Boton pointed out. "It's pointless to run after him until they stop. He'll probably backtrack four or five times before he's satisfied she's safe."

  


"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Sango asked.

  


"Youko's very careful. That's why it took them four hundred years to catch him," Hiei said.

  


Took who four hundred years to catch him for doing what?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

  


"That," Hiei said stiffly, "is none of your concern. Just as long as you know, he's the best."

  


"Hiei!" Boton hissed.

  


"Hn."

  


So, what do you think that we should do now?" Inuyasha asked gruffly.

  


"Go back to Kaede's?" Sango offered. "They'll come there eventually, right?" 

  


"I agree," Miroku nodded.

  


"Keh!"

  


"Let's go then!" Boton cheered.

  


"You're not going to throw me off again, are you?" Inuyasha grumbled.

  


"I did that?" she crinkled her brow. "Ah, hehehe...sorry..."

  


"Feh!" Inuyasha heaved a sigh. "Women..."

  


******************************************************************************

  


Youko hadn't gone as far as he would have liked when Kagome started to wake up. He stopped in a small glade near a cool stream. He knew her well enough to know bathing would be a top priority for her. A few miles back, he had prowled through a village, pilfering a rich kimono and a few other random objects that happened to be unattended, including some food. 

  


He watched her stir restlessly. 

  


_Why is it that we can never be together alone, without one of us being injured or exhausted? _Kurama mourned as Youko smoothed her hair away from her face.

  


"It does put a bit of an obstacle in the relationship," Youko chuckled good-naturedly. 

  


Kagome heard a deep voice laughing lightly and frowned in her hazy half-sleep. She remembered dreaming about Kurama and she could feel him surrounding her. She could still feel him now...The sense of peace and completeness that she only got from being around him engulfed her and saved her from dark thought. She found her center and made herself so comfortable in his aura, taking some of his energy to wrap it around her own shattered spirit.

It was like the dream had become reality. The strength with which she could find reason to continue to fight...but, it couldn't be Kurama. Not in Naraku's palace...

  


Kagome moaned and blinked open her eyes. She squinted at the strange demon hovering way to close for comfort. She stared uncomprehendingly at him. There was a look in his eyes that she remembered, a hint of familiarity that puzzled her. Her eyes landed on his alert ears pricked to catch any little sound that she made and she remembered him. "You!" she breathed senselessly. 

  


Youko felt his relief flare into something stronger and waited no more then a heart beat to insure to himself that she was alive and well in his arms before he covered her lips with his own. His emotions where in a chaos of relief, joy and contentment that overrode all common sense. 

  


Kagome's heart skipped several beats as her waking mind tried to function rationally and failed. _No one should be aloud to kiss this good! _Just like Kurama did, he was making her knees go weak and her toes curl. _Kurama..._her fuzzy thoughts connected with that memory and she woke up completely to find herself locking lips with that same silver demon that had invaded her room months ago. _Kurama!_ She cried out inside.

  


She promptly pushed him off of her and made the next move.

  


SMACK!

  


"You arrogant jerk!" she yelled.

  


Youko held his cheek and watched the girl with hurt and caution in his bright eyes. His handsome features were twisted with a pout. "That's the second time that you have slapped me like that!"

  


"And you deserved it!" she announced. "Both times."

  


Youko settled for being hurt. "Am I really so bad?" he muttered, his pride refuseing to mend the hole this put in his self confidence. "I've never had complaints before..."

  


Kagome gasped, her color alternating from a deathly pale to a brilliant red, and back again.

  


_OH MY GOD, YOUKO, YOU DIDN'T!?! _Shuuichi screeched in his head. Youko resisted the urge to cover his ears.

  


_He did,_ Kurama sighed in suffering.

  


_What?_ The fox winced at their disgust in confusion. "What did I do wrong?" he asked aloud.

  


_YOUKO! _Shuuichi screamed in frustration. _Shut up before you make this worse!_

  


Youko glanced at Kgome in concern. Her eyes had darkened to an ocean blue in anger and her delicate jaw was set. Her assumption that he was talking to her made perfect sense because she was the only other person there...that she knew of. "First of all," she snarled when he looked into her eyes apprehensively, " you don't just _grab_ a girl and kiss her!" 

  


He eyed her in confusion. "Why not? I've always gotten the right response from women before...except you. But even so, you were enjoying..." he trailed off. 

  


Kagome's eyes widened and she rapidly changed colors a few more times.

  


"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

  


She ignored that and took several deep breaths. "No woman likes to be manhandled by a stranger," she began.

  


"But," he protested. He was about to remind her that he wasn't a stranger but the look on her face stopped him short.

  


_Shut up! _The voices chorused together.

  


She glared him into silence. "Second, You find out if a woman is willing BEFORE you get physical. And before you ask why again," she snarled, " the lady may not like you, or she might already have someone else!"

  


Youko couldn't help it. "What if I could change the lady's mind?" he asked with a purr.

  


This time he did wince when Shuuichi verbally attacked. He tried to block it out, amazed that the flighty human even knew such words.

  


Kagome stared at this stranger in disbelief. Kagome's anger grew. It consumed her aura and billowed around them in visible waves of energy. 

  


In her already drained state, this was an amazing show of stamina. Youko watched, perplexed by all of this.

  


"Lastly," she said quietly, he looked at her attentively, "when you want to gather a woman's attention, you most certainly DO NOT talk about other conquests!"

  


"Oh." Youko said, finally understanding. He looked confused again. "But you pulled away before I said anything."

  


Kagome twitched and glared. 

  


"And I know that you are attracted to me," he continued. 'So that leaves..."

  


"I already have someone else." she said in a steely voice.

  


"What!? Since when!?" he snarled back, mad now that she would say such a thing.

  


"Since I met someone that I really care for!" she shouted.

  


Youko growled. "Who is it?" he demanded dangerously. Kurama added to his anger. _She met someone else!?_

  


This was completely unreasonable considering it hadn't been that long since he had seen her and considering the situation she had been in for most of that time spent apart, but logic eluded him for the moment. He growled and advanced on her instead.

  


"Keep away from me!" she yelled.

  


"No," he said in a deadly quiet voice.

  


She scooted backwards until the rough bark of a tree at her back prevented further escape. "I warn you," sje hissed, "I'm not as defenseless as I seem. You don't want to test me!"

  


"You cared for me once," he moved into her personal space and grabbed her hands. "I know that you still do..."

  


"Wha-"

  


"I'll prove it to you!" he snarled and closed the distance between them.

  


He mouth was possessive and hard. He kissed her roughly, proving a point of dominance that Kagome struggled against. Youko took advantage of her surprise and consumed any protest with determined practice. When his lips softened against her's, she felt the pleading and gentleness that was so different from his beginning onslaught. He heart started to pound in her ears and her whole body heated up. Despite all her protests, his touch felt so _right._

  


She came undone and melted against him, unaware of her actions. Her hands automatically twined into his long hair and she lift her face up to kiss him back. This kiss was controlled passion and future promises. Youko poured himself into this moment and Kagome couldn't resist his silent plea for acceptance. The kiss deepened until Youko became aware that if they continued, he wasn't sure where it would end.

  


He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. It was a gesture that she remembered from another. "This other guy," Youko whispered, "is not for you."

  


Kagome worked to try to focus on his words. "This is wrong." she whispered back and raised sorrowful eyes to his.

  


"That kiss we shared was not one of someone bound to another. Tell me you felt nothing," he answered hoarsely, " and I'll let you go. Tell me that you love this other guy, and I'll leave you alone."

  


His golden eyes pleaded with her.

  


Kagome met his gaze and felt tears gather in her eyes. The kiss had felt so right, but...

  


She held his gaze as a tear slid down her cheek. "I love him," she said simply.

  


Shuuichi and Kurama had gone eerily silent.

  


Youko could see the sincerity and truth in her eyes and he felt his heart crack. He searched her face in despair. "Is there no hope for me then?"

  


"I love him," she repeated, but her words were sad.

  


"I can change your mind," he breathed desperately.

  


"I love him," she said with more confidence.

  


Youko felt hollow. He touched her hands, wondering if the warmth form his body was deserting him. The emptiness had not yet consumed him, he still had a shred of hope. "Who is he?" Youko asked.

  


Kagome touched his cheek and turned his head to face her. "You rescued me, helped me," she said, "and I may not be immune to your charm, but I love him."

  


"You could have loved me," the bitter words left his mouth before he could stop them.

  


"You're probably right, but he already holds my heart..."

  


"You never answered me," he sighed. "He better be good enough for you. Why wasn't he hear for you now? What kind of mate lets his love be stolen and tortured? Who is he?"

  


"The kind that exists in another time," she answered, confusion pulling a frown on her face.

  


Youko jerked his head up in surprise. She was backing into the tree suspiciously.

  


"You," she whispered. "You were in the future, in my home even. That's where I slapped you the first time...how did you get here?" Her eyes widened. "And why do I sense Shikon shards on you?! Pure ones..." She stared at him, emotions chasing across her expressive features. "Who are you?" she finally whispered.

  


Youko felt a sickenng sense of understanding wash over him. She had forgotten again that she did not know _him. _But before he would let hope fill him, he had to know something. "This man you love, what is his name?" he demanded.

  


Kagoem flinched at the silver demon's determined expression.

  


"His name!" Youko insisted, allowing his desparation to color his tone and show on his face.

  


"What does it matter?!" she cried out. "Who _are _you?!"

  


"It matters!" Youko braced his arms on the tree on either side of her, effectively blocking any hope of escape. "It matters a great deal," he leaned in. "Kagome, what is his name?"

  


Kagome hesitated. She wanted to trust this youkai, for reasons she couldn't put into words. His nearness was comforting, but it was on an instinctual level. There were levels of herself telling her to just give in to him, assuring her it was okay...it was right. "Kurama," she sighed out a name like it was a life line. "His name is Kurama."

  


Youko snatched her from the tree and into his arms before she could squeak a protest. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled her scent as if he were afraid that he would forget it. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest under her cheek. He held her tight to him, but tenderly as well, almost as if he were afraid that she would break.

  


_She loves me? _Kurama whispered in awe in the back of Youko's mind.

  


"Thank god..." he whispered and placed a brief kiss on top of her head. His heart had stopped beating for several seconds after her answer, only to pound powerfully now. He felt..he felt...complete. "Oh god, Kagome," he whispered to the limp woman in his arms, "I was so afraid..." 

  


He felt her struggle weakly against him, and allowed her to pull back enough to look into his eyes.

  


Kagome stared in shock at her new captor. There was a look of such deep and unconditional love there...and it was directed at her. It was enough to make her head spin. She swallowed and searched his beautiful face for answers. She lifted her eyes back to his, wonder and confusion in her own silver blue gaze. "Who _are _you?"

  


He grew serious and a bit wary. "Kagome, there is something that I need you to understand, I need to tell you, but I want to know that you'll listen before you make any decisions..."

  


She nodded slowly, "I can do that," she agreed.

  


He tenderly stroked her hair and ran light fingers down her arms until her hands were trapped in his own. He took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. 

  


"I _am_ Kurama."

  
  
  
  


**************************************************************************

Ooooookay...I'm gonna have to stop thanking the reviewers...not that I'm not thankful, but...there are so many of you that I spend more time typing everyone's complicated or sometimes strange names out when I could be typing another chapter! WOW. There were so many people this time and I have to make up for last time too, that I was overwhelmed by over 100 reviewers...since I will be taking e-mail addresses for a mailing list, I can respond to individual questions that way instead! So...if you want to be on this list, send me an e-mail marked Strongest Ties List to Silverecho475@aol.com I never use it for anything, so I can use it for this!

  


So until then, here are the thank you's to the ones who reviewed the past two times I've updated!

  


Dark Topaz, Yabou, Star Silver Fox, Artemis the Goddess, Katzztar, Shinigami Clara, dark-elmo, Dee-chan, Why?What?Shutup, HeavenlyAnimeAngel-Amaterasu, aznfangurl16, b, tarah, AkaBara, Michelle, Koishii Tenshi13, Silver Spell, Ryumasa the Ryuhaitou, DemonLady1, kitana, Chiisana Kitty, Daiphanous, Laura Ann, ForestSprite, kuro honoo, tessa3, Neo-Crystal, Silent Dark, Nyte Shade, Hinoke, Quichi the Vole Slayer, Leostargirl, Delphine Pryde, Inuyashafan, Alexis of the Westlands, Sukera, Sukuri, badgerwolf, hentai houshi, Helen, Jin lover, rogue solus, Silver1, gigigirl281, hiei is mine forever, Elyndewen Startree, lemmings-please, Michi-chan6, Lady Arilyia, Hebi Youkai, lulu, Lady love, Damsel-of-Distress, tootsie, lady sakura, Anime-Cutie, silvervail, Helio Youkai, inu's girl, animefan2007, Tygerfyre, Andrea10, baka-chibi-puffs, dark-death-angel, EvilHermione1824, Black Kitsune, Moon-n-Universe-Goddess, Kitty, Inu-Anime, Melshenia Kari, Mona, Midnight Frost, Elven-Inu Luthien, Eris Goddess of Chaos, half-goddess-Katai, Shade, Fire Pheonix1, Sukuri, Arella Hallo, Inuchick13, wackoramaco87, flare2, sunset-youkai7, Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe, ixi, cccccccccc, InuYoukai, Hime, chinita, Crimson Blades16, ^-^ , Adrelliehs, InuBabe, watergoddesskasey, MissPriss998, silverclaws, Trina3, Sabrina Usagi the Goddess, ceara, bluemoon gurl, Kang Lin, wolf girl11, yukiko, sassylee, the Sisters of Chaos, Mermaide99, BC1, starkitty, Inu-Leeli, Kawaii Youkai, Emme, Dark Whispers, Hikari no Sekai, distorted-desire, Alex, and Marilyn Clark

  


THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! (Deep breath and continues to shout) YOU MAKE ME SO HAPPY WITH YOUR SUPPORT AND HAPPY REVIEWS! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I will keep writing and I am sorry this past month and a half has been hell. I had my last final this week and I will be writing and posting more like I was before hopefully. It is hard to tell with Christmas...(my least favorite holiday) and all the crap that I have to organize for the family...sigh. I detest this time of year...but, it's for the kids. Julian will love it! SO, I'll muddle through too.

  


For all you Xmas lovers, Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and for you fellow non Xmas lovers, do something fun anyways!

  


Sylvannastar


	49. The Shocking Truth

Hey there! Updating again! I have only received a few people that wanted to be on the mailing list for me to tell them about updates, so if you didn't catch the other note, send an e-mail to Silverecho475@aol.com Under the heading "The Strongest Ties List" and I'll add you right in!

  
  


Sorry that it took so long to update, but I rewrote these chapters four times and I still don't like them. I had to go back and read what I had written from the beginning because I couldn't remember what I had already included and what I was repeating.

  


Strangely enough, When I backtracked to what I have left to write, every chapter outline I have is turning into about two or three chapters so I have at least...14 chapters to go...can you guys stay with me long enough to finish the story out? I seem to have lost a few more people along the way again...my fault for not updating like I said I would. Sigh...sorry.

  


I also got my first real flame! I was impressed that the person read all the way to chapter 46 before telling me that the whole thing sucked and that there was basically nothing redeeming about my work or the story! Amazing isn't it? ^.^ They gave it a 46 chapter chance before coming to the conclusion that they hated it! That was very big of them....anyway, I'm sure that I stated before, that I do not mind constructive criticism, but to just go around flaming people is stupid and a waste of my time and theirs. Do everyone a favor...don't flame people. 

  


Well, enjoy 

Sylvannastar

  


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The Shocking Truth

****************

  


Botan landed elegantly near where Kirara had touched her cream colored paws to the earth. Inuyasha sighed heavily in the cooler morning air, but hadn't yet released his hold on the female in front of him. She felt a bit apprehensive about turning around to face him. He hadn't been the best company these past few days. He hadn't said much, but what he had vocalized had been mostly nasty and hurtful. 

  


Boton hung her head and squeezed her eyes shut, expecting another outburst about her incompetence.

  


"Botan," he said.

  


She cringed.

  


"I'm sorry. I've been pretty unbearable..." he sighed again, the puff of air blowing across her neck and sending shivers through her delicate frame. "I'm sorry..." he repeated.

  


Botan lifted wary eyes from the hard packed ground and stared at where his hands were still clasped around her waist. He squeezed her in a quick hug, and she smiled slowly, but it effectively brightened her dreary mood.

  


"Kagome has been my closest friend for three years. I was just so worried. Naraku is..." 

  
  


"A monster," Boton said softly and covered his hands with her own. "I know. And I understand, Inuyasha. I miss her too. We were all worried..."

  


The dog hanyou heaved one last unsteady sigh and curled himself into Boton's back.

  


"But Kurama will make sure that she is okay. Trust him, Inuyasha. He loves her."

  


"I trust you," he replied after a long silence. "And if you trust him, then that will be enough for me."

  


Botan giggled, her good mood returning fully. "Don't go all soft on me now!"

  


"Feh!" he teased.

  


"That's better."

  


Inuyasha laughed loudly, the sound carried along to the others. He felt a well of happiness inside that had been missing from his life and he had her to thank for it. With a rare genuine smile fitted across his face, he releases Botan and stepped into the clearing where the others waited. 

  


"What do you have to laugh about?" Kouga said grimly. 

  


"Life..." Inuyasha snorted. "And Death," he added and gave the woman in front of him a casual glance that said it all. He walked with her into Kaede's, leaving the wolf alone to brood outside.

  


Kouga snorted and leaned into a tree, mumbling to himself. "You made more sense when you were obsessed with the corpse..."

  


******************************************************************************

Kagome tightened her fingers into fists, her slender fingers curled until the color left them. _I know that I did not just hear that right. I must have misunderstood...Yes, that's it. I heard wrong. He did not just say that he WAS Kurama...My Kurama..._Kagome stared passively at her toes for several minutes while she worked up the nerve to flay this demon alive for playing such a stupid game with her. 

  


"Kagome?" the deep voice of the demon interrupted her.

  


Youko flinched when he saw the pale crescents of her tiny human finger nails sink into the soft flesh of her palms.

  


"You're lying." she said softly.

  


Youko shivered at her bland words and expression. He would have much preferred her yelling and screaming to this calm certainty. If she truly disbelieved him, there was no real way to convince her short of showing her...and that was a shock that he was trying to damper with a vocal confession. _We should have told her before this..._

  


An outraged yelp in his mind reminded him that he had been the one to so vehemently refuse to explain himself to the woman he was trying now to desperately hold onto. He scowled at his own stupidity and though hard about how to convince her that he was who he claimed, without forcing the truth in such a way that would condemn him for keeping such an important thing, form the one person he should have been completely honest with.

  


She finally lifted her head to meet his eyes and he started to wish she hadn't. "You're lying," she said again, but he could see the fear and pain in the depths of her silver-blue eyes. "Kurama would have..." she sucked in a deep breath and shuddered at the sincerity she saw on the demon's handsome face. She forced herself to finish, "He would have told me about something like this..."

  


"Kagome," he whispered earnestly, bringing a clawed hand up to touch her cheek. She shied away and stared at him wide-eyed. Youko dropped his hand in temporary defeat, but refused to back down completely. "I am Kurama..." he said with more force and willed her to see that he spoke the truth.

  


"No," she shook her head forcefully. Her denial fed the flames of self loathing growing in the silver kitsune's mind.

  


"I am," he insisted. "You can feel it, I know you can. My energy is familiar to you. You know me, and you love me." Youko held his breath and waited for her to deny him again.

  


Kagome twisted her face away from his knowing gaze. She didn't want to believe him, couldn't believe him. That would mean that Kurama had been keeping secrets from her...hadn't trusted her, or the strength of the bond between them...She gasped desperately for air and focused on her senses. _If I can focus, I can tell that he's not Kurama...he's not the same person..._

  


She turned her senses in and sorted through the jumbled mess she was receiving as a result of her chaotic emotional state and the exhaustion she had not had time to heal from. She picked up his energy immediately because he had such a large aura and because he stood only inches away from her. _I can prove it! You, demon are not...my..._ Kagome concentrated on the silver fox, for he was unmistakably a fox youkai, and felt her heart skip several beats in pained sympathy. At first, she could feel the difference...but then, the similarities came to her attention. And in the background, she felt him. Kurama was there...inside this stranger. Kurama was _right in front of her_.

  


She whipped her head back around and looked at the silver fox holding perfectly still before her intense regard. The truth was there in his eyes...a pleading for understanding and accepting prominent where before lust had dwelled. "No," she cried out and sank to her knees. 

  


"Kagome!" Youko kneeled down in front of her and threw his arms around her shoulders just before she passed out from hunger, thirst, pain, and shock. _HEAL HER,_ he yelled to the human hovering concerned in the fore front of his mind. _Do something, I don't know what's wrong with her!_

  


_You just rescued her from three days of torture, what the hell do you think is wrong with her! _Shuuichi snapped at the fox. He calmed himself before continuing, knowing that the anger was just a result of both of them venting their frustration at the situation. Kagome was more important than anything else for the both of them, and caring for her had to come first. __

  


_She's dehydrated, _the merged Kurama pointed out. 

  


Youko quickly grabbed the water pouch that he had stolen along with the food and clothes and tipped it toward the girl in his arms.

  


_You're going to drown her! _Shuuichi yelled. _Let me out! Stupid fox, you don't pour water down the throat of an unconscious person!_

  


Youko growled but ceased to threaten the battered girl further. He also refused to relinquish his dominant position to the human. "Then tell me what to do!" he ground out. 

  


_She needs rest, more then anything, _Kurama portrayed a calm that he did not feel in an attempt to comfort the others sharing this shell of a body. _Her miko powers are already starting to return to her. She will heal faster if we allow her to recover on her own time without pestering her. Youko, find somewhere comfortable and safe for her to rest. I will tend to her injuries then._

  


Youko released a puffed breath and nodded to the voices only he could hear. "Right. Somewhere safer..." he glanced around, gathered the purloined items from the village , pausing to change forms long enough to pick up the mirror, and hefting the unconscious Kagome into his arms and disappeared from the clearing, leaving little trace that he had ever been there. 

  


******************************************************************************

  
  
  


"...And then, Inuyasha started to chase the wolves and Kagome was snatched away. But I didn't run, I hung on to his tail so that I could save her! I "

  


Sesshoumaru stopped and bit his tongue until he could feel his fangs meet. The taste of blood in his mouth quickly disappeared as he healed. _Not the best way to keep from screaming obscenities at the kit, but... wait..._ "The wolf took Kagome?"__

  


"Yeah, Kouga took us to his den where there were so many wolves that we were surrounded! He told Kagome that-" Shippo sped up his story now that he knew he had the Demon lord's attention. It wasn't often that anyone was really interested in what he had to say, other then Kagome, but even then, she was sometimes humoring him.

  


"The Wolf kidnaped the miko and she did not destroy him?" Sesshoumaru's interest was genuine. If this wolf demon was still alive, he must have been very powerful to withstand her purification. The challenge of a strong demon wolf was too good to be true. He wondered if it would be worth his time to seek out this wolf and challenge him...

  


"No she wouldn't let Inuyasha kill him either, Kouga comes around sometimes still. He says that 

Kagome is going to be his mate-"

  


Sesshoumaru frowned. There was too many holes in the thinking of the kitsune kit to piece together a coherent story. He had a knack for jumbling events and leaving out important information that forced the Taiyoukai to ask questions so that he wouldn't go insane from the constant stream on nonsense pouring from the kitsune's mouth.

  


"Does she not belong to the Silver Fox?"

  


"Of course!" Shippo nodded enthusiastically. 

  


Sesshoumaru sighed in defeat. Her past did not really interest him anyway. It was her ability to fight Naraku in the future that he was concerned about. Even trying to convince himself of that, he couldn't stop his next question, "How did she meet the Fox?"

  


Shippo grinned ear to ear and took a deep breath, "Weeeelllll...."

  


"Wait," Sesshoumaru said smoothly.

  


Shippo instantly shut up and perched more comfortably on the demon's shoulder. 

  


"He has changed direction again," Sesshoumaru said blandly. 

  


Shippo, being a fox himself, expected this and waited for Sesshoumaru to feel out the direction they needed to go. He knew that if Sesshoumaru were not as powerful as he was, there was no way that they had any chance of tracking Kurama. As it was, they were barely managing to follow along the older fox's trail.

  


"They are returning back this way."

  


Shippo perked up and waited for more information, if his companion decided to give anymore that is. 

  


They will be here in a few minutes," Sesshoumaru concluded.

  


"If he dropped his guard that much, something must be wrong," Shippo tensed and dug his tiny claws into the silk of Sesshoumaru's shoulder. After a few moments of silence, the tiny kit was able to sense Kurama's energy growing closer. 

  


Moments later, the soft rustling of the underbrush parted to reveal the silver kitsune with the Miko in his arms.

  


Sesshoumaru stared rather pointedly at the possessive fox and his burden, but said nothing. Shippo was not in the same mood though and launched himself at the pair with a strangled shout. Sesshoumaru caught him in midair by his rather abused tail and effectively cut off his muffled exclamation of surprise with a gentle shake and a whispered "wait."

  


Youko sniffed the air for any other presence before stepping out where they could see him better. "I thought I caught your scent a few miles back..."

  


"You knew we were following you, even from way back here?" Shippo asked form his awkward position hung suspended upside-down. "Is she alright? Can I see her? Did you kill Naraku? Why is-"

  


Sesshoumaru shook the kit gently again to shut him up.

  


Youko sighed and stepped closer. "You know this place," he addressed the demons in front of him. "I need to take her somewhere safe where she can heal."

  


The Inu Youkai tilted his head to one side in silent contemplation before issuing a command. "Follow me."

  


Youko bristled when the other demon gave him an order, but when he felt Kagome move in his arms, he sighed and figured that if she called this arrogant male a friend he could trust her judgement until he was proven a threat.

  


******************************************************************************

Click. Click. Clickclickclickclick. Click. Click.

  


Botan sheltered the neko demon in her arms and stared into the flames of Kaede's fire. She miserably waited with the others for any news of either Youko or Kagome and the minutes were dragging by. With an annoyed twitch twisting her expression every few seconds, she thumped Inuyasha soundly in the head. "Quit tapping."

  


Inuyasha gave up clicking his claws on the warn wooden floors of the hut to rub the back of his head. "Woman!" he snapped in warning. 

  


Botan gave him a bland look that showed her disinterest to his yelling and then turned back to the flickering flames. She raised a blue tinted eyebrow at the sight of the dancing fire. It was rising and falling in perfect time to the clicking of the Hanyou's claws that she could still hear in her head, even though she knew that he had given up tapping out the annoying rhythm. She glared though the orange and gold flames and met the amused and mocking glance of Hiei.

  


She growled in exasperation and twisted around to face another direction. "Men." she sighed.

  


Kirara, being a fire cat, took comfort in the fire and before she could stop herself, both tails were flipping back and forth to match the rising and falling flames. 

  


Swish. Swish. SwishSwishSwishSwish. Swish. Swish

  


Botan stood up and dropped the comfortable cat into Sango's equally comfortable lap and watched her make herself at home again.

  


"Cats," she sighed in the same tone she had previously used to bemoan males.

  


She stretched and grumbled before leaving them to their own gloomy thoughts and took hers outside into the open air. The night was slightly cooler then the steamy mugginess that she had become accustomed to in the future due to all the pollution and the closed in landscape of skyscrapers and apartments. She rubbed needlessly at her arms and sucked in great lung-fulls of the clean and untainted air. The only thing that ruined her appreciation for the simplicity and beauty of the nature that surrounded her is that she already knew of its inevitable loss.

  


She was grieving for this world while she stood amongst its splendor. 

  


A coughing scoff broke her attention from her wandering thoughts.

  


"'Grieving', Botan? Isn't that a bit much?" Hiei snorted.

  


"Keep out of my head!" she frowned at him. 

  


"Hn."

  


Botan took that to mean that he was agreeing to resist the temptation to peer into her thoughts and absently thanked him for that courtesy.

  


"Have you contacted Koenma?" The fire demon asked suddenly.

  


"No. The communicator is with Yusuke and I am very aware of the time difference here. I could make a portal to the Reikai, but it would be the Reikai of the feudal ages." Botan replied without actually taking the time to think through her words.

  


"Hn."

  


""Why?" she asked him.

  


Hiei glanced at her, his ruby eyes glowing in his face. "One of us should go and update him."

  


"Huh?" Botan gave the diminutive koorime her full attention. "That does not sound like you! Are you sure you're Hiei?"

  


"Baka onna."

  


"Okay, okay" she held her hands up in mock surrender. "That is proof enough for me. Why are you so concerned with what Koenma knows now?"

  


"It's not him I'm concerned about. I want to know what is going on over there before things get worse. The barrier breaking is a really big problem," he reminded her.

  


"So I'm told," she grimaced. "I see your point. As soon as we get back, we'll probably be expected to take on all the things that he couldn't contain while we were gone."

  


"Probably?" Hiei asked sarcastically.

  


Botan chuckled and shook her head. "I'll go." she announced. "But I expect that you keep everyone else alive and in the best of heath until I return. That means no killing anyone from our group, Hiei." She grinned when he muttered something under his breath.

  


"What was that?" she asked sweetly.

  


He grinned devilishly. "Do you really what me to repeat that?"

  


"No, I suppose not."

  


Botan materialized her oar and perched calmly on it. "Tell the others I will be back soon."

  


"Hn." 

  


She started moving when Hiei called after her. 

  


"Botan, a favor..."

  


A full stop and wide eyed in surprise, Botan gaped at the fire demon. "A f-f-favor?!" _Is this really Hiei, here? _

  


"Hn." he frowned at her showing his displeasure with a simple disdainful expression. "Yes, Botan. A favor..." he waited until she nodded in agreement. "Check on my sister for me."

  


Botan almost fell off her oar. "Yukina?!"

  


"Who else?!" he yelled impatiently at her. "I just don't what her to worry needlessly over me."

  


"Worry...over...YOU TOLD HER!" Botan cheered loudly and laughed. She jumped from her seat and threw herself at the small demon. The unexpected move caught Hiei unaware for once and he found himself the grudging recipient of a rather exuberant hug. "I'm so PROUD of you! I bet she was SO happy!"

  


He found himself consumed by the voluminous pink fold of her kimono. "Get off me woman!" His muffled voice broke into her excited giggling. 

  


"Sorry!" she said brightly and stepped back. 

  


"Hn." he smoothed his rumpled clothing with a scowl and glared at her grinning face until she returned to her oar and giggled again.

  


She waved once and started off again.

  


Hiei watched until she was out of sight and then allowed his face to relax into a smirk as he shook his head at the ferry girl's antics. The soft expression stayed on his face as he allowed his thought to turn to his sister and the welcome of family that he knew was waiting for him when he returned. He shook his head again and laughed lightly at himself. "I'm getting soft...and I think I like it."

  


******************************************************************************

  
  
  
  



	50. Koenma's Choice

Koenma's Choice

***************

  


Koenma smacked Yusuke along the back of his head.

  


"Ow!" Yusuke clenched a fist and yelled at the spirit ruler. "What was that for!? Don't you have better things to do than torture innocent humans?"

  


"Idiot," Koenma pouted at his desk. He buried his head in his hands and moaned in misery.

  


"I just wanted to know of you had heard anything. There is no need for you to take your temper out on me!" Yusuke kept his perch with his hip pressed against the warn side of the large wooden desk that dominated the room and glared convincingly at the floor. "I've jumped every time that you have yelled 'Demon" and all I want in return is to be kept updated! They are my friends too!"

  


Koenma raised his head from his desk and sighed. "That's fair," he agreed. "Here's the update...ah-hem, I have heard nothing."

  


Yusuke blinked and rubbed the back of his head where Koenma had left a decent sized bruise for such a little guy. "Why doesn't that surprise me? When have you ever been informed?" he ignored the heated glare his boss was giving him. "So now what?"

  


"Did you find our phantom dog yet?"

  


"Slipped his chain again, has he?" Yusuke grinned. "That demon has been across the barrier four or five times now in the past month and hasn't caused any harm. Maybe he's a good guy."

  


Koenma snorted without humor. "How many demons do you know fit that description?"

  


Yusuke counted carefully on his fingers before dropping his hands back into his lap. "Good point."

  


"Hey!" George objected form behind Koenma's chair. "What about Kurama and Hiei? Don't they count?"

  


"The greatest thief to ever plague the Makai and our very favorite bloodthirsty forbidden child?" Koenma asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

  


"Uh...yeah," George sniffed and retreated.

  


"They aren't that bad..." Yusuke frowned thoughtfully. "In fact, they almost seem tamed to me."

  


Koenma choked on whatever strange demonic food he had been stuffing in his face. "Tamed?!" he repeated and worried about what illness his prize detective must have caught to come up with such a stupid comment. He pressed a pudgy hand to Yusuke's forehead, smearing sauce across the human's skin and into the carefully gelled hair.

  


Yusuke snarled and smacked the hand away and tried to right the damage with his own grubby fists. Koenma ignored the resulting ranting coming from the human's equally dirty mouth.

  


"Yusuke!" Koenma finally lifted his head to stare at the boy after a particularly foul curse was aimed at his princely person. "What would Keiko say!"

  


"Damned Toddler..."Yusuke grunted and huffed, tired from yelling every obscenity that he could remember at the cherubic face of his boss. It was obvious that Koenma wasn't into arguing with him today, which was strange. "Any other demons loose?" he finally asked.

  


"None that you haven't already taken care of..."Koenma absently pointed out.

  


The door banged open at those words and the two just watched the five struggling ogres fighting to be the first to push through the crowded doorway and get to the Spirit Ruler. Choruses of "Koenma-sir!" echoed in the still room. 

  


"That was just too good to last."

  


"What was it this time, George?" Koenma asked offhand.

  


"Uh, thirteen minutes, sir."

  


_Damn. They are breaking through every thirteen minutes now...What am I supposed to do? _

  


"Oy," Yusuke sighed. "That's my cue to get back to work, I guess."

  


Koenma sighed and grabbed the various files the ogres where waving in his face and scanned the contents quickly. "Wait, Yusuke."

  


_I hate to be the one to make this decision...but what else can I do? What am I supposed to do to fix this? Even dad doesn't have a clue...he's trying to take care of the bigger issues and I'm stuck here. Stumped. I have no choice..._Koenma thought to himself.

  


"Eh?" Yusuke prodded him. "Did something interesting get out this time?"

  


"Kami-sama, no!" Koenma glared at the boy for wishing for a catastrophe just to ease his boredom. "I don't want you to go after them this time."

  


"What?!" Yusuke and George squeaked at the same time. "You want me to let them run loose all over the Ningenkai?!"

  


"Yes." Koenma calmly sucked on his pacifier and waited for the explosion that was sure to follow this pronouncement. He wasn't disappointed.

  


"WHAT DRUGS HAVE YOU BEEN SNORTING?!" the disillusioned teen screamed in outrage.

  


"Yusuke, think about this. These little small fry cases are only going to tire you out after a while. I need you in top shape for the mess we ARE going to be in when the barrier does fall and all the big bad guys DO get free." he rubbed his temples tiredly and closed his eyes in frustration. "I don't like it either, but things are going to get very bad very quick. Please, I really need you to listen to me on this."

  


"But to let those demons run loose..."

  


"I know. What else can I do? Do you have any bright ideas?"

  


Yusuke considered this carefully. It was, after all, a situation that called for the utmost seriousness. And though he could still act like a rebellious adolescent, Yusuke was growing up and the maturity that came with heavy responsibility was making it's mark on the young man.

"We have to stop the demons from entering the Ningenkai. To do that, we need a barrier. The current barrier is falling apart for unknown reasons. So," he said casually, "we have two choices. We have to fix the existing barrier....or create a new one."

  


Koenma rolled his eyes. "Brilliant," he said drily. 

  


Yusuke scowled at the child ruler and ignored that obvious jab at his deduction skills. "I'm thinking out loud here, so shut your mouth."

  


George raised his brow at the disrespectful spirit detective and sighed, wondering why Yusuke got away with that when he got cleaning duty in the lowest pits of Hell.

  


"Okay," Yusuke continued, "so, have you figured out what is wrong with the existing barrier?"

Koenma shook his head and waited for the detective to continue. "Do you know how the barrier was made, yet?" Again, the negative shake of the head. "Do you have a way to create a new barrier of equal strength with an new power source? No? Damn it, Koenma! What DO you know?"

  


"The barrier is falling." he thumped his head back on the desk.

  


"You must have SOME theory about all this!" Yusuke insisted.

  


"Yeah, I do...but I have to wait until Kagome returns before I can test out that theory and unfortunately, she is currently in the clutches of the very powerful and equally evil, Naraku."

  


"Not any more she's not!" Botan swept into the room from the portal above their heads. Her cheery voice lightened the room and the oppressive atmosphere to a more tolerable level. "Hi!" she greeted them brightly.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Shippo jumped from Sesshoumaru's shoulder to Youko's shoulder and back again until the two adults threatened to tie him up by his tail and hang him from the tallest tree in Sesshoumaru's garden. So now, he sulked under Kagome's bed while they discussed this and that, and argued proudly, waiting for Kagome to wake up. They had arrived at Sesshoumaru's home a few hours ago where an ecstatic Rin had been awaiting them.

  


Soon after their arrival, they had found themselves hovering in concern over Kagome's pale form. Shippo could easily see that the two demons were doing everything in their power to upstage the other without losing their dignity and submitting to the other. He pouted in his fox form and kept his two tails rigidly straight in indignation. In his opinion they were both being stupid for the same bloody reason. The both wanted to help Kagome, but pride kept them from allowing the other to be the one to do so.

  


"No," Youko said smoothly. 

  


"I have complete control, Fox. No harm would come to her." Sesshoumaru pointed out blandly.

  


"There is no way you are pointing any type of sword at my mate." 

  


The two demons stared at each other with equal amounts of pride and disdain for the other's healing methods. 

  


"Nor will I allow you to place obviously poisonous plants upon her wounds."

  


The staring continued long into the resulting silence. Shippo sighed from his position under the bed and glared at the toes of both adults. _Selfish idiots, _he thought,_ I can't believe that they are placing their pride above her heath! _

  


"She will heal faster."

  


"No." Sesshoumaru stood his ground as Taiyoukai in his own home. "Her wounds would simply disappear."

  


"No." Youko countered, exercising his right as mate.

  


Shippo snarled, he had had enough. Before he could think better of it, he darted out and nipped both ankles from each demon hard enough to draw blood. "You're being stupid!" he barked and jumped onto the bed to curl protectively against Kagome's stomach, being careful to avoid the mirror shooting waves of magic on the other side of her still figure.

  


Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the presumptuous kit and took a menacing step forward.

  


Shippo glared at the Inu Youkai right back. If Kagome had taught him anything, it was how to glare. He had seen her practice it enough on Inuyasha, he was a regular pro.

  


"I agree," Youko crossed his arms snobbishly and stuck his nose in the air.

  


"Baka! I was referring to BOTH of you!" he barked harshly at them.

  


Now two pairs of golden eyes were narrowed intently on his tiny form. He forced himself to stand his ground and did not give an inch to either of the more powerful demons.

  


He jumped up onto his four paws and stood stiff legged on the elevated bed in front of his mother figure. "You are supposed to be helping her! Not arguing over who can heal her better while she wastes away! I can't believe either of you would put your pride above her life! I am ashamed that you call yourself her friend and then ignore the obvious solution because of your stupid territorial rivalry. Put your animal instincts aside and focus on my Momma, like you should have been doing to begin with!"

  


With one last snort of disdain, he flounced back over to nestle in the cloud of dark hair spread over the pillows. He wanted to be as close to her as possible so that he could be the one to greet her when she woke. He sniffed her cheek and growled at the traces of Naraku lingering there and set about obliterating them by grooming her. Careful of her bruises and scrapes, he began to wash her off with a small pick tongue and ignore the strangely silent pair behind him.

  


Youko was stricken by the kit's words and swallowed hard. The child was right and it bothered him that he had so little control over his instinct to dominate this other male in his mate's life. He felt ashamed and unworthy, but he was also determined to fix the problem. He glanced up at he Taiyoukai that had offered his home for his mates temporary care and gritted his fangs together while he tried to master his pride.

  


Sesshoumaru blinked in surprise, but let no other emotion show on his stoic features. That the kit was right was irksome, but it was his own inability to conquer his instinct to dominate in his own territory that seemed to overcome his cold logic. He raised his eyes to the silver fox in an attempt to determine the next course of action and was surprised to see the fox assessing him in the same manner. He raised his brow in a calculated move that made it seem that it was his intentions to cooperate all along, and waited for the fox to make the next move.

  


Youko smirked, "It has been my experience that the wisdom of a child often comes from the purest source."

  


"Indeed." Sesshoumaru agreed and a tiny smile appeared on his face.

  


"'Bout time!" Shippo huffed and paused in his cleaning of Kagome's face. "Now, Youko, you put your plant stuff on her. Then, Sesshoumaru can use Tenseiga and if the plants are poisonous, it will heal her anyway." He ignored the stares. "Well?" he prodded and moved down to start washing a pale arm. 

  


Youko barked a quick laugh at the kit's royal tone and felt firmly put into his place, but gracefully gave in and began to prepare his herbal remedies.

  


Sesshoumaru kept his expression neutral, but he was obviously amused by the pup's audacity. "You will have your hands full with that one. He must have learned such disrespect from my brother."

  


"Nope," Youko happily snickered. "That was Kagome's influence all the way."

  


Shippo sighed in exasperation at the two full grown demons before secretly grinning when he knew they couldn't see him. As far as he could tell, this was the beginning of a long and lasting friendship...just what one sly fox was intending all along. After all, it just wouldn't do to have Kagome's mate in jealous fit over her friends, would it? With one last quick swipe of the tongue, he tucked his nose under his tails and waited for them to finish their job and fix his mother.

  


******************************************************************************

  


Naraku hissed in anger at the woman kneeling before him. "What do you mean she got away?" he demanded softly of his detachment.

  


Kagura was terrified inside, but her eyes were calm and resentful when she met Naraku's piercing glare. After a day away, he had hurried back only half healed because of some hint he received that things where not going as he expected. She dropped her eyes and scowled at her clenched hands and waited for his next words. She hated waiting, serving his every whim, degrading herself by painstakingly carrying out his every order...

  


"What part did you play in this?" he leaned forward until she met his eyes again. "How did you release her?"

  


Kagura knew that one thing she could not do was lie to her "father" and narrowed her eyes in anger. "I didn't."

  


"Who did?" he purred intently.

  


"I don't know. There was two, maybe more..." she answered evasively, but truthfully. She saw the multiple forms of the Silver fox and Human boy blend but wasn't sure if there had been more then those two inside the demon skin.

  


"And where were you?" Naraku lashed out and gripped the wind user by her neck to drag her closer. "What were you doing."

  


"Taking care of your intruder," She snarled back.

  


"Ah, yes. The youkai with the long silver hair. Show me what became of him..." he reached into her mind and started to read her memories.

  


Kagura gasped at the intrusion and hastily repressed the memories of anything that happened after the fox stepped into the barrier. Naraku saw the crazy fox walk straight into the barrier wall and came up with the same assumption that the fox was fried, just as sure as she had been at the time that the barrier had cooked the youkai for his stupidity. That assumption saved her life as Naraku released her, not interested in anything further. If he had held on any longer, he would have found out that the Kitsune had survived the barrier and was led to the Miko by none other than his grudgingly obedient servant. He would have crushed her heart right in front of her for that one...

  


"Go," he snarled at her.

  


She escaped the room and breathed a sigh of relief. That couldn't have gone much better. He was still ignorant, the Miko was free, Kanna could no longer spy for Naraku, no new jewel shards had increased his strength, and she was still alive,...though still a slave.

  


But it couldn't all happen at once....no, she still had to wait. But now, she had something she had been missing before. Kagura had hope.

  


******************************************************************************

  


What do you think? There is more to come...next chapter up: Take Me Home

  
  
  



	51. Doubt

Take Me Home

*************

Youko watched as Sesshoumaru escorted the two children from the room to find food and a place to rest. Shippo had determinedly held out for as long as he could before the rumbling of his stomach had annoyed the inu youkai until he demanded that the kit follow him. Hungry and tired, Shippo agreed only when Rin admitted that she was hungry and tired too. The young girl wrapped the kitsune around her little fingers and pleaded for his company. Youko smirked when Shippo colored slightly and agreed. As the dog demon's tail cleared the doorway and the door was slid shut, Youko turned back to the bed.

  


Youko snared his chance to cuddle closely to Kagome. To his understanding, it was permissible as long as she didn't tell him "no." The fact that she was asleep did not deter him at the least and 

he regarded that fact as a mere detail that could be dealt with later. Slipping under the cover that shielded her from the cool night air, he curled around her, intending to share in the comfort that came from close contact with one you care about. He stroked a lazy hand down her arm until he reached her finger tips and twined his clawed fingers through her own blunt tipped ones. 

  


He didn't want to think about the lashing he was going to get when she woke up. He winced, knowing he deserved it, but warily pushed the subject aside to be dealt with later. She was going to be spitting mad when she emerged from her healing sleep and he had to think about ways to placate her before she turned form him completely. With that in mind, Youko felt his stomach flip-flop with unease and he scooted even closer to Kagome's warmth. 

  


Just the thought that he may have lost her due to his own stupidity was enough to send him spiraling down into a depression. He puller her as close to him as he could, until she was plastered against his side so tightly that there was little chance that he would miss the signs of her waking. For once, there was no lustful turn to his thoughts. He felt love and hurt, fear and peace, sorrow and determination. He was confused by his inability to focus, but at the same time, he couldn't seem to do more then accept what was happening and enjoy the proximity that he had with his love while it lasted.

  


_So, what now? _He heard the human question.__

  


_We wait._

  


_....and?_

  


_Wait. _

  


Kurama would have pitied the fox for all the chaotic emotions running rampant through his mind, if he wasn't sharing in them already. Shuuichi's rather calm manners were also abandoned in light of the threat of losing Kagome. This left Kurama torn between comforting himself and blaming himself for the whole situation. To make matters worse, the more the two sides of himself agreed on things, the more he felt himself strengthening the bonds that was creating the person he was becoming. And Kagome was something that the two were completely in accord to. When it came to her, their feelings were identical and Kurama could feel himself growing closer to both as the process of combining their souls was sped up. This left him feeling stronger and more whole, but also forced him to face the issues that multiple personalities was going to bring into his already chaotic life. The swirl of emotions and thoughts left him unable to think clearly and now was the time that he most desperately needed to focus and find a solution that would save the relationship that he hoped to share with the woman he had come to love.

  


Kurama was also facing his disgust at his own situation. The fact that he was forced into the background was truly beginning to grate on his nerves. He was used to being the one that was out in the open...the one that responded to the world. He was the one that had, up until recent events, been the one to hold Kagome. He recognized the need to exploit what strengths he had to rescue and ensure the safety of his future mate, but this was a position that he was unfamiliar with. Especially for extended lengths of time. Youko was refusing to allow him to come back to the surface and it was beginning to wear at the other souls restlessly inhabiting this body. His only hope at regaining his former position in the forefront, was that Youko could only hold this youkai form for so long before he would tire. He was after all, mostly a homeless spirit that had learned to manipulate some of his youki to change his body into a replica of what he had been in life. The body was youkai only as long as Youko had the energy to sustain it. 

  


Youko was stronger when it came to fighting and using his Youki, but when it came to understanding others, the fox was proving to be socially inept. Sure he could charm the pants off of just about anything and had done so on several occasions, but now, when the well-being of another really mattered, the fox was managing to do something he had never done before. He was doing and saying everything wrong and preforming some sort of torturous suicide because he was not thinking objectively. The wit and intelligence that he was famous for when he pulled off job after flawless job was sadly missing. __

  


_I can still hear your thoughts, you know. _Youko frowned in the silence.

  


_Your point being what? _Kurama sighed. _You know I'm right. Nothing I have thought is new to you._

  


_You don't have to act so superior. You are me. Remember?_

  


_I am the best of you-_

  


_And me. _Shuuichi reminded the arrogant youkai and the combined Kurama.

  


_Both of you, _Kurama corrected_, and I seem to recall that I was not the first to bring up your inept handling of this situation. You were._

  


Youko's angry swell of indignation was cut short by a tiny movement against his side. All three parts of him immediately shifted focus to the pale miko sleeping in his arms. She was beginning to wake...

  


******************************************************************************

  


Botan enjoyed the expression on Yusuke and Koenma's face and congratulated herself on her unintentional stealth. "So what's going on?"__

  


"Kami-sama, Boton! Don't DO that!"Koenma dramatically clutched at his chest and tried to steady his breathing. Yusuke just glared at her.

  


She ignored both of them and tucked her hands into the vast expanses of her pale pink sleeves. __

  


"You found Kagome?"

  


"No..." she fidgeted. "Kurama did. Or actually Youko, if you want to be technical."__

  


"How was she? What condition was she in? Did Youko tear that hanyou Naraku apart?" Koenma was bouncing up and down childishly in his seat.

  


"I don't know." Botan admitted. "I never got to see her..."

  


The bouncing stopped and a long silence took the place of the protesting squeaks of the abused chair.

  


"You don't know." Koenma repeated. 

  


"So how are you so certain she's okay?" Yusuke queried softly.

  


"Well, Youko ran off and left us when we were still searching for her with the compass.After a few days of bad runs, he got fed up with us and decided that he had a better way to search." she hastily explained.

  


"You let that fox run through the feudal ages of Japan with out anyone keeping an eye on him?"

  


"Did you really expect me to be able to stop him?" Botan raised her eyebrows at her boss.

  


"No. I suppose not." Koenma sighed."So what did happen?"

  


"Well, this morning, the compass went crazy and I knew that only Kagome could have that much power to disrupt the signal that much. Youko must have found her and brought her back from where ever she had been. He hasn't contacted us yet, so he must be somewhere taking care of her." 

  


"I hope you are right." 

  


"Me too." Botan nodded sympathetically. "But Kurama won't let any harm come to her. And he knows how to heal her if she were injured." she assured the Spirit Ruler.

  


"What now?" Yusuke threw his hands into the air and continued to glare at the others.

  


"I have to go back, I guess," Botan brightly announced.

  


Koenma nodded and chewed on the end of his ever present pacifier. He calmly regarded Yusuke and tilted his head to the side. "I want you to go and get some sleep. If Botan is right, they will be back soon and it will be time for all of you to pull your team together to hunt that last shard in the Reikai."

  


Yusuke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "A shard hunt, huh?" he contemplated. From what he remembered of Kagome's memories, that should at least be eventful. He nodded in agreement while absently grinning foolishly at the prospect of a good fight. "Alright," he nodded. "But I get to be leader."

  


Koenma rolled his eyes and ignored that in favor of commanding Botan around. "Take Yusuke home, will you?"

  


She shrugged her agreement and opened a portal. She was going to have to stop at Genkai's temple anyway to see Yukina so she wasn't bothered by Koenma's directions. Yusuke followed her though and waved once in her direction in his distinctive way of saying "thank you" without actually saying it. She shook her head and stepped backward until the tingle of her body told her that she was once again firmly inside the portal before she closed it around herself. She still had several stops to make...

  


******************************************************************************

  


Kagome pried open her eyes and gave the white blob in her face a blurry glance and frown. She was tired, but she was feeling so much better then before that the slight shifting in the bed was enough to disturb her sleep. 

  


Youko held his breath in both anticipation and dread. This moment was one that had all the power to make or destroy him. What she felt for him now was uncertain, and he trembled against her as she slowly regained her senses and focused on his concerned face.

  


She stared at him with a calm that bordered on disinterest. It was a look that he had not expected at all and it threw him into a panic. He had prepared himself for anger or for forgiveness, for a fight or for a reunion. This unexpected unconcern was threatening and he was ill prepared to handle it.

  


_Shuuichi! _The fox yelled at his human counterpart desperately. _What is she thinking?! What is this reaction?! _The human's silence only served to heighten the spirit fox's feeling of unease.__

  


Kagome's inner turmoil was actually a riotous collection of mixed emotions that consumed her the moment she remembered what last sent her spiraling into the now familiar realm of the unconscious. In truth, it was her inability to choose one emotion that was causing her seemingly expressionless and uncaring facade. Instead of injuring herself by trying to instantaneously unravel the tangle of emotion, she allowed them all to wash over her until the strongest feeling would sort itself from the knot and allow her to react honestly to this development in her already complicated life. 

  


Youko stared wide eyed, but said nothing. He was too high strung to trust himself to speak. When she continued to remain silent, without pulling away from his side, he wondered at the continued silence of his partners in crime. He wasn't sure if he could face her abandonment with out them to support him when his heart was smashed into dust. _Shuuichi! _Youko pleaded silently.

  


_Don't worry, _Kurama's quiet voice rolled through his mind. _We will face this together..._

  


_Together..._Shuuichi echoed reassuringly.

  


Youko returned to the present feeling calmer, but no better. When he looked into her pale face, he saw that stoic emptiness fading from her beautiful features. Youko finally found his voice, wanting to plead with her before she crushed him with her almost inevitable goodbye. "Kagome," he said hoarsely and winced at the sound of his own voice.

  


Kagome blinked at the sudden noise as it pulled her from the swirling abyss that was threatening her equilibrium. She had never been one to cover what she felt with lies or deceptions. Everything she felt was usually exposed for any and all to see. Her natural penchant for truthfulness was returning full force now that he had given her something to work with...her name. Her name on his lips...it was clearly a plea.

  


She never could stand to see another suffering without attempting to sooth the hurt, but Kagome was at a loss as to why this beautiful silver fox would feel so. Surely she was the one wronged here. She was the one that had been lied to. She was the one that had been led on to believe in a lie...

  


Youko quickly latched on to the most obvious feeling displayed on his loves face. "I know you are angry with me," he began. "But, Kagome-" Youko had to pause to search her face for any hint that she may have some love left for him in her. "Kagome..." he stopped to stare into her flashing silver blue eyes as she turned her face away from him.

  


Kagome turned her face away from the searching look Youko...or Kurama...was giving her. His uncertainty was wrecking havoc with her heart. It's irregular beat was plaguing her tiny pulses of pain and love that mingled sweetly in her already jumbled mind. She couldn't focus when his golden eyes were staring into her own with a mixture of such hope and despair. She chocked down a sob and clenched her jaw to keep from crying out loud.

  


Youko trailed a claw down her cheek and turned her face back to him. "Kagome," he whispered, but once again, he couldn't seem to get past her name. He saw her lips tremble and he wanted nothing more then to comfort her. He knew she was angry and he did not blame her for it...but he hoped that he had not killed what love she had felt for him with his deception. He hated himself for bring this on her.

  


The hurt in his voice was her undoing. Kagome sobbed once brokenly and faced the facts. If she had been led on to believe a lie, she was the one to blame. She had been the one to lead herself down this path with her own assumptions about how strongly Kurama felt for her. She had only assumed that he had felt the same as her. The all encompassing feeling that had once flowed through her in the form of love and happiness was now a bitter spill of regret and self-loathing. She had done this to herself and now, her obvious inability to cope with the disappointment was hurting him too.

  


Youko saw the regret and the pain in her eyes and paled. He was right...he had lost her. _Youko, you were a fool..._he said to himself.

  


_We were fools...this was not just you, Youko. Do not shoulder the blame alone for what we all did._

  


The hurt in her eyes was something he felt his own heart lurch in response to. He took a deep breath and traced her features with care as if he were trying to memorize her before he had to let her go. "Kagome," he whispered, "I'm sorry..."

  


It was inadequate. It was useless. It had to be said. Youko watched as a bitter smile tugged her lips up in a smile that had no joy.

  


"Do not give me apologies...Kurama. Youko...what ever." A bark of cheerless laughter escaped her pale lips.

  


He jerked back at the hash sound and opened his mouth to say something, anything that might fix the damage done to her. He would give anything to allow her to remain the creature of joy and happiness that he had fallen so hard for. Instead he was responsible for the sorrowful woman that was echoing his pain in her laughter, where it had no business living. 

  


She sobered remarkably quickly and smoothed the pained lines etched across Youko's handsome face. 

  


He leaned into her touch and allowed his eyes to portray the regret he felt in the very depths of his combined soul. Hoping the strength of his feelings for her would be enough to reawaken what happiness she had once imparted on the world.

  


"No. Do not apologize to me," she whispered as she stared in to his eyes. "I do not deserve it."

  


Youko blinked in surprise and tried to understand what she meant. 

  


Kagome closed her eyes and sank into her pain. "I am the one that needs to apologize..."

  


Youko opened his mouth several times to ask her what she meant but he couldn't seem to.

  


Kagome forged on ahead while her voice still worked and her tears were still held back. "I never should have assumed that you felt the same way I did. I never should have expected so much from someone that never said..." she gulped in a lung full of air that was seeming to become inadequate in her need for oxygen.

  


Youko beat back his surprise and grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him as he interrupted her. "Kagome, what are you saying? This is my fault. I should have told you. I should have told you a long time ago...Do you doubt what I feel for you?" he asked her softly.

  


Kagome opened her eyes to stare into his handsome face. She could see hints of Kurama in him, in his mannerisms, in the hint of green settling in the center of his eyes...

  


"Kagome, I love you." he said forcefully.

  


"Don't. You don't have to say that," she whispered.

  


"I WANT to say it. I should have said it before. I should have told you many things before this." Youko peered intently at her sad face.

  


"Then why?" she asked in confusion. "Why?"

  


"I was afraid that it would break us apart..." he answered softly.

  


"So I was right. You did doubt. That's why you never told me..."

  


"No! It wasn't you I doubted. It was myself. It was my own stupid insecurity..." Youko hissed in obvious shock at her belief that she was in the wrong. 

  


"You doubted how I felt for you..." she insisted quietly. "And how strong your feelings for me were...If you didn't, you would never have considered that it would matter."

  


"What do you mean?" he asked her in confusion. 

  


"If you knew that I loved you, it would not matter. This would not have mattered, not to either of us. If you really loved me, you would have trusted that bond of love between us, instead of falling prey to insecurity. You did not trust the love I have for you. You doubted how I felt. That is my fault..." A silent tear slid down her cheek to meet the pad of his thumb. 

  


"Kagome," he whispered brokenly, his gold and green eyes focused intently on her. "I did doubt our love for each other, but only because I felt unworthy..." he took a deep breath and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders until he had her hoisted into his lap. "How could I expect you to love someone who is more then one soul? I am three people now, Kagome. How could I even ask that of you? And yet, I found myself unable to let you go."

  


Kagome was briefly confused by the "three" but pushed it aside. "The same way I could not expect you to love someone without a whole soul..." she said in sudden understanding. "The same problem in reverse..."

  


Youko looked at her questioningly. 

  


"Kikyo took a part of me...I will never have my whole soul again. How could I expect someone as wonderful as you to love a woman that was not complete?"

  


"It's actually quite easy..." Youko said gently. "Even missing that little piece, you are more then enough woman to love and bond myself to forever."

  


"But is there enough of me to satisfy all three of you?" she asked him in all seriousness. Then she chuckled. "That just sounded very wrong."

  


"Wrong?" he waggled his eyebrows at her playfully to lighten the mood. He was rewarded with a blushing smile, though it was still a far cry from her usual carefree grin. 

  


"Youko?" she hesitated.

  


"Hm?" 

  


"I DO love you, but..." she hurried on when she saw him frown and the sudden worry stole into his eyes. "I know Kurama is in there. I can feel him and I can sense him. But I need to SEE him too..."

  


Youko nodded in understanding and gathered her into a tight embrace. "It's okay, Kagome. Do not feel guilty. We are, after all, one and the same. Your love for him is the same as the love for me...I can believe that now. I can not feel jealous of myself....well, not so much anyway."

  


Kagome blushed slightly at his gentle understanding and returned the hug. Before he pulled away she felt a flash of magic and the tall demon in her grasp changed into Kurama. Change couldn't really describe the sensation, though. Like chocolate on your tongue, it was more like he _melted_ into her arms. 

  


She leaned back and just stared at him, drinking in his presence with all her senses. Kurama was essentially doing the same thing, but he also held a hunger in his eyes that took her breath.

  


"Say it again," he requested.

  


She blinked in momentary confusion before she smiled happily at him. "I love you."

  


Kurama closed his eyes and his tense muscles went lax in relief. "I thought I had lost you..." he admitted.

  


"Lost me?" she curled into his familiar arms and lightly kissed his fingers where they were captured in hers.

  


"To my own stupidity, to my insecurity, to Naraku..." he sighed.

  


She tensed in his hold at the mention of that demon hanyou and whimpered in distress.

  


"Shhh. I'll not let him ever reach you again. I'll keep you safe," he assured her.

  


"I didn't expect you to be the one to come for me..." she murmured into his neck. Her muffled voice gave him pause.

  


Kurama pulled back in concerned horror. "I came for you. I will always come for you. I would give my life to keep you safe. Do not doubt the strength of my love for you."

  


At the word "doubt" Kagome's eyes widened. "Oh Kurama. We are both fools...." she started crying against his chest and finally let loose all the turmoil in a rush of salty tears.

  


Kurama rocked her in his arms and buried his face in her dark hair. In the shadows of the room he succumbed to his own hopes and fears and shed a few suppressed tears of his own..

  


"I love you..." she hesitated on the words.

  


Kurama smiled into her hair. "I love you...WE love you."

  


She giggled and wept until she fell back into an exhausted state_. _Kurama held her long after her breathing evened out and the tears subsided. With a sigh, she cuddled into him as close as she could get.

  


"Kurama?" she questioned him drowsily.

  


"Yes, love?" __

  


"Where are we?"

  


******************************************************************************__

  
  
  


Okay, guys. I decided not to post the last chapter at the last minute because it really doesn't fit with this section. It will work better in the next update, so I hope you enjoyed these three chapters and I hope to have another three or four up in a few weeks.

  


Thank you to all the reviewers and I hope to hear from you again.

  


Sylvannastar

  
  
  
  



	52. Take me home

Oh dear, where to start? First off, thank you everyone who did review and for all the wonderful things that you said to support my efforts! 

I do realize that chapter 2 and 3 are switched, and I have not fixed that yet...but I will!

I DO realize that my story is not the best one out there, but I was not writing it for a competition. I was writing because I enjoy it and others seem to as well. So, please, you don't have to tell me that my story is "Not the best" I know that. And if you would like to recommend a story you think is better, I don't mind. And the story you recommend may be better than mine...that will only make me happier to read it. (Also, Sylvan is an ancient word for "Forest" or "Woods" AND Elf. In old English and Gaelic, it is for "Elf" or "Sprite" Sylvan was also the god of the forest in old druidic lore. There are many interpretations to a name. Mine is for the forest.. .)

I want all of you Xover fans to check out a story that I have fallen in love with! I got permission from the author to tell you guys that I think you should read it. It's called _By Any Other Name _by Deviant Nature. It is a Kag/Kur and I hope some of you that haven't read it yet will check it out and review it (there have not been reviews enough for such a good story, so please!?!)

I am also planning to post the first chapter of my Hiei/Kag fic that Yabou will be helping with in later sections, so that I can get an idea of receptivity...so look for that if you are interested...it is called_ I Thought Hell Was Supposed to Burn_

Here is the next chapter in an update of three...

Sylvannastar

Take Me Home

*************

"So what is the problem now, toddler?" Yusuke sauntered into Koenma's office, shirt untucked and his hair conspicuously clean of gel. He yawned hugely without bothering to cover his mouth and shuffled farther into the room. "I only just got to sleep, you know."

Koenma ignored the heavy eyed detective and waved a hand in welcome. "Come in." he said even though Yusuke was already making himself comfortable by leaning against the only piece of furniture available. Whatever had been important enough to track down the detective was now pushed aside for the steaming tray of food taking up the majority of the desk top. 

"Ugh," Yusuke sank down into the vacant chair that Koenma considerately yielded in favor of standing over his food. Another yawn, each one larger then the last stretched his mouth in a large O. Blinking his bleary eyes at the inattentive spirit ruler, Yusuke sought a distraction to keep himself awake. His eyes landed on the forever present cycle of files and the much abused stamp and pad that Koenma used to designate what souls went where. Other then that, the room was bare. 

Scowling in boredom, The young tentai squared his shoulders and decided to attempt the unachievably. Distracting Koenma from food... "What do you want?" he hedged, not really interested in the answer, and absently picked up the stamper to twirl through his fingers. 

"Nuffin' werwee..." Koenma paused long enough to force the words out through his stuffed mouth. He swallowed heavily and returned his attention to the heaping platter. "I got bored waiting."

Yusuke tipped over in the chair until he was resting his forehead on the stiff arm. "Oh? That's nice." He yawned again and wished he had thought to bring his pillow with him. _Pillow, mhhh..._Suddenly Yusuke's eyes shot open as his mind finally registered his bosses words. "You were BORED?" he suddenly bellowed sending the unsuspecting spirit ruler face first into the object of his exclusive attention. 

SPLAT!

Koenma picked his face out of the mess and glared at his prize detective. "Yusuke..." he growled.

"Spoiled brat." Yusuke sent back and pointed a finger at the spirit ruler. 

Ducking quickly, Koenma started to flick bits of food off his clothing and face. "I wouldn't do that..." 

"SPIRIT G- why the hell not?" Yusuke cheekily grinned, as Koenma dived back into the platter of food. The squelching sound it made when he tried to jump back up, realizing that the tentai had been joking, made the boy laugh heartily. 

"That was not funny."

"That depends totally on your point of view. I found it quite hilarious..." Yusuke shrugged and chuckled again. 

Koenma just watched the food on his plate sink into a goopy puddle with large mournful eyes.

"I bet..." 

Yusuke sighed, the boredom quickly returning and rested his elbows on the desk so he could hold up his head with a lazy palm. There was nothing to do, since Koenma wouldn't let him go after the escaped demons, and Kuwabara was too annoying to hang out with on a day to day basis. His long time rival and friend had never been the smartest cookie, but he used to talk about things that were more interesting then the one subject he rehashed now...Yukina this-Yukina that...

He shook his head and moved on. Hiei and Kurama were both still in the past probably having a grand time fighting demons and kicking ancient ass...while he got to watch Koenma...lick a plate? Yes, the spirit leader was hunched over on hands and knees licking the residual...stuff, from the platter. Yusuke hesitated to call it food and left that subject alone too. 

Feeling more then mildly bored, Yusuke decided to use this time to think through the barrier problem. After all, there was always the possibility that they missed something. Perhaps a different point of view would be all that it would take to crack this case...Yusuke picked up the first file marked "TOP SECRET" and pursed his lips. "What better way is there to attract unwanted attention?" he muttered at the great big red letters on the top, casually flipped open the cover and began to read...

******************************************************************************

Botan woke with a large yawn and stretched out the kinks in her back that had settled from sleeping on the sofa. She ran a tired hand over her face and hoped that she looked better then she felt. If the hints that her body was telling her were true, she must resemble Yusuke after a long night of snoring, and from what she had experienced, Yusuke was no morning person. 

Swinging her legs over, Botan dropped her bare feet to the floor and paused to consider the time. She had been glad that Yukina had talked her into staying the night and returning to the others after breakfast, but now, that decision did not seem as satisfying as she had believed it would be.

She spent most of the night tossing and turning, wondering if the others knew she was gone, or if they cared. And after so long sleeping with the hanyou Inuyasha near her side, she felt bereft without him. 

It was also time to return to the past and inform the others of Koenma's latest news. They were not going to like it. Not one bit. 

She hesitated to return without saying goodbye to Yukina, but time was already ticking away. She stood up and followed her instincts to the doorway of the shrine and was surprised to see the ice apparition standing in the rising sun, obviously waiting for her to wake and join her. 

"Good Morning," Yukina said softly to the grim reaper. 

"Morning," she yawned again and scratched at the impossible-to-reach place on her back. "Thank you for letting me sleep over..." she continued.

Yukina just smiled and threw a handful of bread crumbs to the waiting birds that were winging their way over to stare with beady eyes at the two spirits. 

"You must be anxious to get back..." Yukina grinned. "I should thank you for bringing me news of my brother." she bowed to her friend and ignored the ferry girl's bemused expression. 

"Yes, I suppose..." Botan made her oar materialize and climbed a bit less elegantly on board then she normally did.

"Will you tell everyone that I said hello? And my brother that I love him and wait for his return?"

Yukina asked her softly. "I would like for him to know..."

"Eh?" Botan blushed and stared at the most interesting patch of earth she had ever seen...She couldn't imagine trying to say something like that to the Jagonashi and quirked her lips at the image on his face if she did have the guts to say it. She refrained from laughing when she saw Yukina's smiling but serious face. "Ah...I guess... I can do...that." she answered hesitantly and with no small amount of humor.

Botan sighed and smoothed her fingers through her long blue hair. Well, if nothing else, there was going to be Inuyasha to look forward to. She smiled and waved goodbye to Yukina and left for the Sunset shrine and the well portal to the Warring Stated Era.

******************************************************************************

Kagome tucked her legs under her and rose to a sitting position, all semblance of sleep vanishing with her unease. "Where are we and why don't I hurt anymore?" she asked the concerned red head.

The flare of energy at her other side had her looking into a warped reflection of herself in a familiar mirror spitting magic. She touched the face of the mirror with confused fingertips and felt the hollowness of Naraku's power trying to hold onto the energy that was slowly making it's way free from the spell Kanna had woven. "And why is this here?"

Kurama opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Sesshoumaru's deep voice. Turning to view the speaker, Kurama noticed that all of Kagome's attention was no longer focused on him. With a wry smile, he reminded himself that he had no reason to be jealous...Kagome was his.

"You are in my home," the taiyoukai said from the doorway. "And you are healed. As for that," he gestured to the reflective surface of the glowing item at his side, "it is you. It belongs with you. The kitsune was right in bringing it back here."

Kagome frowned slightly, pushing the mirror and its memories away until they were less intense. Her eyes traveled over the imposing figure of the Inuyoukai until she noticed the lack of armor and weapons on the familiar form. Tilting her head to side, she looked back up into his face. "Healed?" she wondered out loud. "Did you use tenseiga for me?" 

Sesshoumaru met the slightly golden green eyes of the strange human sitting behind the miko and smirked a victory. "Hai." 

"Oh," Kagome wrung her hands and blushed. "Then I thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama, for the help and for your hospitality," she blushed lightly as she spoke the semi-formal words. She felt the rising of energy at her back and instinctively leaned against the male behind her in reassurance. The gesture did not go unnoticed by either male and this time, Kurama gave the victory smirk.

"Kagome!" a higher but louder voice announced itself.

"Shippo!" Kagome opened her arms to the kit that had suddenly appeared in the frame of the doorway.

Happily he bounded into her and wrapped himself in the familiar feel of her arms. "I was so worried about you," he confessed loudly and buried his face in her neck.

She laughed and clung lovingly to the fox kit. "I was worried about you too," she admitted softly. "Did you know that I was on my way here to get you?" 

"Why?" he questioned her curiously.

"Well," she began sadly, "when we fought with Naraku, Sango and Miroku...they-"

"Your friends are just fine, Miko." Sesshoumaru soothed her in his own brisk manner. 

"Huh?" she blinked back the tears that had begun to form in her expressive eyes. "But I saw-"

"Sesshoumaru went back and healed them too," Kurama whispered in her ear. He watched her head snap back to him as she searched his face desperately for assurance. "I saw them myself..."

Kagome quickly looked back at the composed lord standing perfectly still in the room. With a strangled sob she launched herself from where she was sitting into the demon dog. "Thank you," she whispered as she hugged him tightly about the waist. "Thank you..."

Sesshoumaru placed a clawed hand on top of her dark head and watched the wary look on the foxes face. 

Youko scowled, but maintained control. After all, Kagome loved _him. _ Not that puffed up arrogant dog...

_Where do you find room to talk about arrogance? _Shuuichi would have rolled his eyes if he had control of them.

_Well, I have every right to be arrogant, _the fox replied easily. _I got the girl._

_I don't think he ever had any intention of taking her, _Shuuichi pointed out. 

_Then he is a fool, _Youko said in satisfaction. 

Kurama ignored the conversation inside his own head and waited calmly for Kagome to return to his side. He did not fear that she would turn from him, now that he knew that she loved him...even knowing of the multiple sides of himself. 

It was not long after that when Sesshoumaru demanded his freedom and stately walked from the room. Kagome snuggled back up to Kurama and Shippo and sighed happily. "And here I thought everything was going wrong..." she murmured. "When in reality, things are so much better."

"What's better?" Shippo perched on top of Kurama's head and peered at his adoptive mother. 

Kagome laughed lightly and pulled him off of the other fox so she could hold him in her arms and lean against her chosen love. "Well, I have you, and my friends, and Kurama," she leaned up to brush her lips over Kurama's much to the little fox's delight, and blushed at his appreciative smile. "Our shikon shards are still safe," she smiled back into Kurama's mixed green and gold eyes, "and all the damage Naraku thought he did to me is repaired..."

"Oh," Shippo grinned. "So now you have me and Kurama to take care of you. It's about time."

Kagome gave the small kitsune a speculative look and twirled her fingers in his hair. "Somehow, I'm afraid to ask what you mean by that..."

Shippo just snuggled closer and winked at the man stroking his mama's long dark hair. Kurama winked back and chuckled.

_I knew I liked that kit, _Youko said quietly.

Kurama silently agreed and drew his miko into his arms with the kit between them. He had never felt so complete and whole before. She was an amazing creature to have such an effect on him and on those who's lives she influenced, if even for the briefest moments. He knew that it would be difficult for him to let her out of his sight after this last situation, and that her independence would demand that he let her have some space, but for now, as she let him hold her, he knew that love had no boundaries and that he would do anything for her...all she had to do was ask.

They shared a quiet moment before Kagome pulled away slightly and made her first request. "Kurama," she said to get his attention, "will you take me home?"

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	53. Going Home

Going Home

**********

Hiei paced the floor of the simple wooden hut and growled under his breath. Never had he had to make so many threats in such a short amount of time...that damn dog hanyou and the wolf were progressively driving everyone else over the edge of sanity. If only he hadn't made that promise to Botan...and he did not fail to notice the ferry girls absence.

A loud thunderous roar shook the hut and Hiei paused long enough in his random pacing to reassure himself that neither dog nor wolf were dead...yet. His mask of discontent was firmly in place as he pulled the rough curtain that served as a door aside and glared out at the others. He growled under his breath and sneered at the wildly fighting youkai that were drawing a crowd in the small clearing.

He went to stand next to the monk and demon slayer and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hn," he greeted them.

Sango only spared the fire demon a quick glance before returning to the clash of hanyou and youkai that had once again commenced. 

Inuyasha swung Tetseiga over his head one handed and flung himself out of the wolf's way. The tip of his sword glowed a bloody red in the morning light from a well timed slice at the other youkia's legs. The hanyou purposefully held back, relying on his strength and weight to carry the blows and ignoring the swords insistence that he yield and pull a Kaze no Kizu. Inuyasha knew that the battle between them was more reminiscent to their past then to actual dislike..at least on his part. But then, Kouga was not using his full strength either. And by this time, both were running out of inventive insults to scream at the other.

"Damn dog turd!" Kouga yelled and spun around fast enough to kick up a wall of dust. The screen effectively hid him from Inuyasha's view for a few precious moments that he took advantage of. He ran behind the gaging hanyou and kicked him in the back of the head with a triumphant "Ha!"

Inuyasha landed face first on the ground and peeled himself off of the dirt, only to jump back into the battle with mock ferocity. Kouga had expected Inuyasha to stay down for a short time and wasn't able to miss the fist that caught him in the gut and flung him into the trees behind him. "HA!" Inuyasha screamed back.

A set of shimmering blue eyes regarded the battle and its disintegration into a childish competition complete with the back and forth "Ha's!" that screamed "Immaturity" to any over the age of five. It seemed that there were some things that even youkais never grew out of. Look at Sesshoumaru...even he had a strangely violent sibling rivalry issue that he couldn't seem to get over...however, when the opportunity presented itself, someone had to be the adult.

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"HA!"

"Inuyasha, osuwari."

"Eh?"

THUNK!

Hiei watched with satisfied relief as the battle came to an abrupt halt. He had sensed the arrival of Kurama's aura long before he had appeared at the fringes of the crowd. Even stronger then that was the build up Miko energy falling from them in waves of magic. It came from a wrapped bundle in Kagome's arms, tucked slightly out of sight in a small bag. He ran his eyes over Kagome's light form to assure himself that the kitsune had managed to rescue and heal the girl before traveling with her and grunted his approval. The only visible mark on her was a thin scar that ran the length of one cheek. Hiei focused on the pair as they flowed around the oblivious crowd to stand a few feet from his right. He smirked a greeting and payed particular attention to the way the couple remained touching even as they wove through the obstacle course of people and village supplies left to lie unattended in various piles.

He pushed the kitsune to an explanation as soon as the hanyou managed to overcome the spell and fling himself at the woman laughing delightedly at seeing her friends. _You're late, fox._

_I, _Yoko replied primly, _am right on time._

_You left me here to deal with these idiots for THREE days! _Hiei fumed in his head.

Youko chuckled and sent out a soothing vibe to his friend. _Are you telling me that you can't handle a few ningens for a few days, Hiei? _

_No one's dead..._Shuuichi offered peacefully.

Hiei turned his ruby eyes to the smirking red head that had still not relinquished his mate to be's hand, even through she was hugging and patting the various members of her group in reassurance, with the other.

_Yet..._

_I heard that! _Hiei frowned and turned his nose up at the laughter in his friends eyes.

_Right..._Shuuichi answered sheepishly.

_Hn._

_Cut that out, both of you! _Kurama chastised them. _Are you taking lessons from the dog?_

Hiei gave his friend a death glare for such an accusation and firmed his lips into a thin hard line. Refusing to be drawn further into the childish banter, he jumped into the high branches of a tree to pout with out witnesses.

_Oh, Hiei! Don't be mad! _Youko giggled .

A barely audible "hn" was heard over the breeze. 

Kagome gave Kurama a sly glance that told him that she knew what he was doing and that she did not approve...He felt Youko take the opportunity to leer at her while he was searching for an acceptable excuse for baiting Hiei. 

Kagome's eyes widened before she grinned at him and winked. WINKED!

Kurama stifled his laughter and tried to hide his surprise behind a cough. Youko took that moment to further embarrass him by waggling his eyebrows at the girl suggestively. Kagome's answering giggle was high enough praise to send Youko into a fit of energetic chattering and further erotic daydreaming that made Kurama regret the fact that there were so many people around while he was so uncomfortable. He moaned in misery and pulled her close to his side so that he could whisper in her ear. "Quit encouraging him." he pleaded.

Kagome pouted out her lower lip and turned into his embrace, ignoring the watchful eyes surrounding them so that she could lean up to whisper her answer. "No..." 

She pulled from his arms and stared at his predominantly golden eyes with a wicked smile still in place as she sauntered away, hips swinging purposefully more then normal. Kagome heard him growl playfully at her as she laughed and made a hasty retreat.

As soon as she was free of the red head, Kouga snatched his opportunity to get close to her. With her hands firmly caught in his, Kouga glared at everyone else and stated loudly, "Kagome, we need to talk."

Kagome blinked at the amorous wolf and realized just what conversation he was wanting to have. "Now, Kouga-kun?" she tilted her head to one side as she peered over his shoulder to glare at the three males growling loud enough for her to hear with her human senses. The loudest growl was from the smallest throat, Shippo perched on Kurama's shoulder was giving the wolf a look that would have stopped Sesshoumaru in his tracks. 

Inuyasha choked on his rumbling growl to stare in surprise at the kit and the kitsune beside him.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the miko he had just gotten back. "Leave her be, Wimpy Wolf!" he shouted, when the kitsune did no more then vocalize his general displeasure.

Kouga closed his eyes and tightened his hold on Kagome's fingers with a firm grip. He opened his electric blue eyes to catch her with his serious gaze. "Yes," he answered her, ignoring the danger signs sending his hair standing on end. "Now," he agreed.

She searched his face and nodded slowly in agreement. It was not a conversation to put off, she knew, but that did not make this an enjoyable confrontation. "Alright..." she made sure to say loud enough so that the others could hear plainly that she was agreeing to speak with Kouga voluntarily. There could be no room for assumptions now, or someone could easily end up dead...

Kouga took the opportunity to haul her into his arms and sprint away into the forest. The whirlwind he created made a screen of debris that the other demons and humans had to shield their eyes from. 

"Hey! Get back here!" Inuyasha shook a fist at them. "She didn't say that she would go anywhere with you!" he fussed but didn't follow. It was no longer his place to chase after Kagome and he knew it. He glared instead at the red headed kitsune and bared his fangs in displeasure. "Some mate you'll make," he snapped. "You let that stupid Ookami baka take her! Feh!"

Kurama narrowed his eyes at the dog and let Youko out to deal with the insult. Youko was not nearly as nice as Kurama was..._Go for it, Youko. You handle this one._

_With pleasure..._the fox answered and calmly punched Inuyasha in the nose.

WHAM!

Kurama looked down at that suddenly snoozing dog with curiosity. _That is not quite what I meant._

_I know! _Youko chuckled nastily. 

Kurama sighed and shook his head. By allowing Kagome to go with the wolf, he was showing her his trust...even if he did not agree with her decision or timing. He knew Kagome would return, unhurt and needing his support. She had a lot to say to the youkai prince. 

He could only wait and hope she returned soon. Any minute without her was one of extreme worry for him... 

******************************************************************************

Kouga stopped only a few minutes away, where they were close enough to call for help if it was needed, but far enough away to speak privately. He set her on her feet and turned his back on her. "Is it true?" he asked her quietly.

Kagome sighed sadly. She didn't want to hurt him, but she had never agreed to be his mate in the first place...this was bound to come up eventually. "Yes Kouga, It's true. Kurama and I are together now..." her voice was gentle and understanding, but she saw him wince anyway.

Kouga hung his head til his chin touched his chest and remained quiet. He had been fearing that this would happen if he did not fully claim her...but he also knew that he would only truly have her if she wanted to be with him. He would not force himself on anyone, especially not someone as pure of heart as his Kagome...no not his...never his. Kouga wanted to yell and throw a temper but it would not change anything. If anything, it would only distance her from him more. He restrained his aching heart and wondered if he had simply left too much to chance...But, if she were happy, then he knew he could take some small measure of comfort in that. 

"I'm sorry, Kouga. But you can't help who you love..." she whispered, knowing that he would still hear her.

"True," he murmured and turned back to her, "you can't." He gave her a strained smile and grasped her hand again. "Does he love you?"

She nodded and squeezed his fingers in her own, in a pale attempt to comfort.

He sighed, "Then I wish you both well, Kagome. If ever you have need of me, I'll still be there for you."

Kagome took him by surprise by pulling him into a strong hug. "Thank you, Kouga-kun. Your friendship means a lot to me."

With a faint real smile gracing his lips, Kouga wrapped his arms loosely around her thin frame. "Anytime, Kagome..."

She pulled away to gift him with a watery smile and shrugged emotionally. "Uh..." she mumbled, looking for word that fit the occasion.

He laughed suddenly and winked at her. "If this don't work out with the fox, come find me." he told her and reached for her hands once again. 

Expecting them to be held in his possessive grasp again, she was surprised to find him dropping something into the palm of one hand and closing her fingers over it. A warm tingle told her what she held without looking at it. "Oh, Kouga," she sighed, and tightened her hold on the hard object. Her smile widened and lost the sad tilt to it's corners.

"Come on," he grinned. "Your fox is probably getting anxious by now."

She giggled and took his other hand in hers. "I doubt it. Walk with me?" she tugged on his clawed fingers.

Surprised and mildly pleased that she still accepted such contact with him, Kouga allowed her to pull him along behind her. That is, until he noticed something important..."Uh, Kagome?"

"Huh?" she asked merrily, practically skipping down the path.

"The village is that way." he pointed behind them and burst out laughing at her brightening blush. She turned up her nose and promptly turned around as if it had never happened.

Kouga's laughter could be heard all the way back to camp...

******************************************************************************

Botan careened into the camp at a speed that proved dangerous to everyone's heath. She landed awkwardly and tried to tame her wind swept hair with a hasty hand. She gave the mixed crowd a nervous smile. "Hi everyone, I'm back," she muttered. Frazzled by her highspeed flight, she glanced over the familiar faces until she spotted the crumpled dog demon kissing the dirt. "Oh!" she jumped in concern and ran to Inuyasha's side.

Kurama bit his lip to keep from laughing at the panicked ferry girl and the unconscious dog she was pulling into her lap to sooth into wakefulness. 

_How cheesy, _Youko sneered.

_I hope we don't look like that! _Shuuichi agreed.

_As if we could look so pathetic, _Youko said snobbishly.

Another "hn," sounded through the trees, this time with a distinct amused tone to it.

Kurama twitched his fingers in irritation and then an idea came to him.

"KURAMA!" Hiei's voice from above them yelled in outrage.

Looking innocent, Kurama tilted his head up to see through the leafy branches to the koorime's resting place. "Yes?" he questioned confidently.

"Don't take that tone with me!" Hiei hissed. "I know you did this! Let me go!"

"Why Hiei," Kurama continued the feigned innocence. "What ever are you talking about?"

The leaves rattled alarmingly as the jaganashi struggled against the weave of branches encasing him in a living cage.

"Damn you!" he shouted. 

Botan studied the two demons with a frown. "Hush all that racket," she scolded. "Inuyasha is sleeping..."

Kurama rolled his eyes and released Hiei from the tangle of bark and leaf. Hiei's small form immediately disappeared from view, going somewhere else to sulk. Kurama laughed until he realized that his was not the only sound of merriment echoing through out the clearing. He narrowed suddenly golden eyes as HIS mate and the wolf stepped from the brush holding hands. Kagome was blushing red but she was smiling and Kouga was laughing happily at her side. The growl came unbidden to his lips as they approached. 

Kagome released Kouga and ran happily to Kurama's side to snuggle against him. Satisfied, but strangely tense, he allowed her to hide her burning face in his shoulder as he warily watched the wolf. 

"Kurama," she got his attention and waited for him to look down at her. "Take me home?" she requested again.

He nodded and made a few polite goodbyes while the others assured themselves of her safety and well-being. Kagome was left with no reason to believe that she was unloved. Tough they did not want her to go so soon, they understood that she needed time away form here after her captivity and that she needed the chance to heal from the scars that did not show. 

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Till next time! Which is right after you click the button!


	54. Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice

**********

After carelessly tossing the magic filled hand mirror in her giant backpack which Sango had Kohaku holding for her at Kaede's, Kagome dropped the oversized bag at the foot of her bed to forget about until she needed to re-pack it. Kagome sank down gratefully into the warm folds of her comforter and sighed in pleasure. "Ah! So soft!" she moaned in pure delight.

Kurama ushered the others out of her room, eager for some time alone with his miko. Hiei had disappeared right after leaving the well house to places unknown, though it may have had something to do with Botan's hurried whispered message and the resulting red faced jaganashi. He puzzled over that and decided to torment it out of the fire demon at a later date.

With Kagome's casual acceptance of Shuuichi and Youko, Kurama was finding himself slipping more and more into the teasing prankish side of his fox portion and the less rational decisions of his human half. Kurama was suddenly becoming a lot more fun...and a lot more dangerous...

Botan had to be physically pushed from the room and Kurama found himself doing just that when not so long ago, he would have never presumed to do something so rude.

She struggled until the end and he had to shut the door on her as she tried to shove her way back in the room. "Well," she huffed from outside the door, "That was not very nice."

Kurama leaned against the door and could just imagine the finger the blue haired girl was now waving in a scolding manner at the blank door. He closed his eyes at the mental picture and sighed heavily. 

When the sound of her footsteps faded away, Kagome raised an eyebrow at her fox turned human and waited for him to explain his odd behavior. She waited for a very short time before he pounced. "Ooof!" she exclaimed as the bed bounced her dangerously close to the edge. She laughed good-natured and grasped Kurama's convenient arms for support.

Drawing her as close as he could without violating the house rules, he buried his face into her long dark hair and breathed in the scent. She giggled and whopped him softly in the shoulder. He grinned and breathed in her ear with a heated breath. The giggling abruptly stopped as she became suddenly serious and tense.

"Kurama, what are you doing?" she asked in a breathy voice she had trouble recognizing as her own.

"Enjoying have you close and safe," he answered promptly and with enough finesse to keep himself out of a self-dug hole. He was rewarded by the feel of her relaxing against him and let out a breath in appreciation. 

"Hm, good answer," she teased. "But..."

He frowned down at her and loved watching the way her eyes sparkled with amusement. "But?" he prompted.

"Your eyes are gold again..."

After a stunned silence, Kurama laughed and pulled her into a tight hug. 

Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back. With a pretty yawn, she released him to turn her attentions to the extra pillow on her bed. Tucking the fluffy edge under her chin, she scooted back until she was resting against him. "Will you stay with me until I'm asleep?" she requested.

"I'll stay as long as you want me..."

"Then you'd be here forever," she teased.

"I can only hope," he agreed and rubbed her back soothingly. "Kagome?"

"Hmm?"

"What did that wolf say to make you so happy?"

"Kouga? Well, he said he would always be there for me..." she felt him frown at her back and reached behind her to take his hand. "As a friend." she clarified. "And he gave me something."

"What?"

"His shards." she answered simply. "He game me the two pieces he had to put with the rest of the jewel..."

Kurama thought heavily on this and pulled the large chunk of jewel he had hidden in his hair with his seeds and pressed it between their entwined fingers. She let it stay there, where they could both feel its magic pulse in pure waves between them. She shifted her grip so that she could add the other pieces with her free hand and fused them in their joined grasp.

Kurama felt a wave of magic, unlike any he had ever felt before, sweep through them and smiled when he realized that it was the essence of Kagome herself, making the jewel into something as pure as she was...

"Kurama." she said sleepily. "Tomorrow, will you bring Hiei here?"

"Of course," he automatically agreed. Then his kitsune curiosity demanded more information. "Why?"

"To train myself. Hiei said he's teach me to use a sword..." she muttered. "Where do you think he went in such a hurry?"

Kurama thought this through and puzzled over Hiei's odd behavior. "He may have gone to see Yukina..."it was the only thing that made any sense to the kitsune.

"Kuwabara's girlfriend? Won't he be mad if Hiei's looking for her?" Kagome asked innocently.

Kurama smiled and ran his fingers through his hair in distraction. "No, see Yukina is..." Kurama didn't know if it was his place to tell Kagome about Hiei's relationship to the ice apparition but he did not like keeping any more information form Kagome as he could help. He wanted to be completely honest and open with her from now on.

Sighing, he stroked her hair and tried to think of a way to achieve both telling her and not telling her.

"Is it something that Hiei should be the one to tell me?" she asked him in understanding. At his hesitant nod, Kagome shrugged and pressed a kiss to Kurama's mouth. "Okay," she accepted easily and snuggled back into her living blanket. She yawned again gripping her pillow with one small fist "Just ask him to come tomorrow?" she requested and fell asleep in the next breath

"Yes, Kagome, I'll bring him." Kurama settled himself in and waited for the nightmares that were sure to follow her into this time. When he said he'd be there for her when she needed him, he had meant it in every sense...

******************************************************************************

The morning dawned with a maximum of fuss, fighting the rolling storm clouds for a chance to shed it's warm rays on the earth. Hiei stood proudly in the gloom and watched his sister feeding her birds like she did every morning. He knew that he should tell her of his arrival, but he couldn't resist the temptation to follow the habits he had accumulated since discovering her. She was smiling like always, in that gentle patient way of hers. In many ways, she was the exact opposite of who he was.

Even without his jagon eye, Hiei was able to sense each emotion that Yukina was feeling. The fact that they were twins just strengthened the bond between them. He paused when he felt another energy rushing up the shrine stairs and then scowled in displeasure.

"Yukina, my love!" a very irksome voice sent Hiei to twitching.

With a sigh he watched his sister turn to smile at the human striding toward her. Her quieter greeting was lost on the wind but Hiei knew enough to realize that his genteel sister has a strange liking for the one male that Hiei would gladly send to the slowest and most painful death he could think of...Part of Hiei's great dislike of Kuwabara Kuzuma _was _Yukina's interest in him. It just seemed that as soon as he found her, he had to share her time with the un-evolved human

He growled when the orange haired oaf held her hands in such a familiar manner, not liking the implication of Yukina allowing such contact. 

Hiei decided that enough was enough and dropped from the tree he was watching them from. Yukina sensed his energy as soon as he allowed his barriers to drop and grinned in satisfaction when she abruptly pulled from the other boy's grasp to run into his arms.

Kuwabara stared with his mouth open in shock as his Yukina threw herself at HIEI! The smaller demon that had plagued his life since they had met was hugging his woman! Kuwabara couldn't help but feel hurt. He never got that type of greeting form the woman that he loved with all of his heart. The fire demon was smiling at him in that condescending way that sent Kuwabara into a natural fighting mode.

Standing there, arms empty and a strange tension in the air, Kuwabara pondered what he should do. While he was thinking, Yukina spoke up, startling the tall human into mobility.

"Oh, Hiei! I am glad that you are back! Can you stay for a while? I was so worried for you!" she tightened her hold on her brother, forgetting her suitor's presence completely. "I was so lonely by myself..."

Kuwabara frowned at that. He knew that he had been busy with cases and had not had time to visit in a few weeks, but he had called her occasionally... that she was lonely here by herself had not occurred to him. He realized that he should have found a way to be there for her no matter what and berated himself for giving her too much time to herself, or in this case, with Hiei.

Hiei dropped a small chaste kiss on her forehead and grinned when Kuwabara's jaw dropped even lower in shock. "I can stay for a time," he agreed.

Her answering smile was reward enough to send Hiei into a contented relaxed moment.

"Yukina?" Kuwabara questioned, the hurt evident in his tone.

"Oh!" Yukina turned back around to face her first visitor. "Kazuma-kun, I'm sorry about spoiling your plans, but I would like to spend the day with my brother, since he only just returned," she explained with a concerned smile.

"I- sure...wait...BROTHER?" Kuwabara blinked in frustration at the pair. He knew that Yukina had been looking for her twin for a long time now, but never had he even considered...It was too much. "Yukina what do you mean? That's HIEI!"

She giggled and took Kuwabara's hand in hers with out letting Hiei go with the other one. "I know. I only just found out myself." 

Kuwabara glared at the shorter man and found a certain satisfaction on the koorime's face that had never been there before. There was a gentle love in the fire demon's eyes that spoke volumes to the sensitive human. Kuwabara took a step back and tilted his head to the side to look at the two of them together. What he saw made him gasp in shock. How had he not seen it before? There were unexplained similarities between the two that pointed to the relationship they had as well as a common thread in their energies that he should never have missed. "Your brother..." he mimicked and stepped back again, confusion on his face.

"Kuzuma?" Yukina asked in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I-" he turned around to walk away. "I need to think..."

Hiei snorted at the futility in that and watched in sadistic satisfaction as the human left. When Yukina turned her saddened eyes to his, he faltered and frowned.._Damn it! She liked that useless human_...he couldn't just let the idiot hurt her by walking away. "He'll be back," he assured the girl at his side. _I'll make sure of that_. With narrowed crimson eyes, he considered that he would have to put his dislike for the boy aside for her sake and strangely, couldn't make himself regret that decision. Even if he ended up with Kuwabara as family, as long as he made Yukina happy..._this is what loving family is about_. 

He was torn from his musings by another familiar aura that was approaching from behind him. Kurama's distinctive patterns were growing steadily stronger as he got nearer to the shrine. With a sigh, Hiei turned to meet this new visitor and watched as the stronger heat from the summer sun burned away the gathering storm that has threatened to spill over its burden of water earlier that morning.

Kurama calmly walked up to his friend and twisted his mouth in a smirk at the frowning couple. 

_So he has told her._

_Apparently._

_It's about time. I wonder what pushed him that final step..._

"Kurama," Yukina greeted him with the same warmth that she shared with everyone and reminded him of Kagome's zest for life. He smiled at her and kissed the back of her fingers in a thoroughly disarming manner. 

Hiei growled angrily and hissed out at the fox who was making his sister blush prettily. Kagome was waiting for him and he was blatantly flirting with another girl...Hiei considered attacking the fox but was stopped by the kitsune's words. 

"Welcome to the family, Yukina." Kurama smiled, but it was a friendly smile with no hint of Yuko's hinted lusts.

Hiei relaxed and grunted a greeting to the red head. "Hn,"

Yukina smacked Hiei in the arm lightly and hissed "be polite!" before grinning back at the familiar friend. "Thank you, Kurama."

"I am glad that he finally got the nerve to face you...it was becoming embarrassing watching him pine away alone." Kurama taunted the fire apparition jokingly and shook his head. Yukina just smiled wider and tightened her grip in the brother she still feared would vanish on her with out a warning. 

"What are you doing here, fox?" Hiei sighed, trying to direct the other demon's attention away from his admittedly pitiful past attempts to talk to his sister.

"Kagome was wanting to see you today. She asked me to come and find you. Can you spare her the time?" he asked aware of the koorime's recent reunion.

Hiei was about to tell the fox that his day was already taken when Yukina spoke up again. It was a rather bold move on her part, she usually said little and nothing ever forceful. "Of course he'll come. Kazuma has told me about her. I would like to meet her too..." she hesitated and continued shyly. "Do you think she would mind? Kazuma said she was really nice..."

Hiei glanced at his sisters bent head in surprise and realized that she wasn't kidding when she said she was lonely. She was here all hours, allowed company when one of the team decided to drop by and visit and Boton was her only girl friend and was generally too busy to be here for any length of time.

Kurama nodded in understanding, his eyes soft and compassionate. "I am sure she would love to meet you," Kurama smiled. "I remember her even saying as much."

"Hn," Hiei agreed and nodded his consent. "When?"

"She never said....she probably meant as soon as possible, but she needs to rest...Perhaps in a few hours? She is too impatient with her healing."

"Is she hurt?" Yukina asked in concern.

"No," Kurama assured her. "She's just tired. Shall we meet at the shrine in a few hours?"

Hiei agreed and waved the kitsune away before steering his sister back inside. 

"Do you think she'll like me?" Yukina asked him excitedly. 

Hiei smirked and wondered what the two would get into when they met and found himself looking forward into helping them become friends. "I know she will. You have a lot in common."

_More then I realized..._Hiei smiled genuinely and ushered Yukina to a seat where they could have some time to talk before meeting with the others. 

The sun glared down on the earth, heating it mercilessly after it broke through the final clouds that had upstaged it's rising a few hours prior. The rain had disappeared leaving a rainbow in the haze left over. It seemed to hang over the world like an omen of good fortune...getting fanciful, Hiei snorted and ignored the sight in favor of focusing on Yukina's smiling face.

******************************************************************************

  


Kurama was almost back to the Sunset shrine when a portal opened in front of him and found himself staring at Botan's peeved face. "Come on," she shoved him into the hole that she had punched into the barrier and ignored his protests.

Kurama found himself in familiar territory and suddenly understood how Yusuke felt when Koenma pulled him away from Keiko's presence. Tempted to growl out "What do you want, toddler?" Kurama bit his lip and waited for the spirit ruler to talk.

"Ah, Kurma! It's good to see you back. You got Kagome and healed her, I hear. Good, good," the spirit realm prince waved a pudgy hang contentedly. "At least something is going right."

Kurama said nothing, sure that if given the chance, Youko would be cussing his boss in very unseemly manner.

The hard look in his eyes was not missed by the reikai prince so he hurried his message up. "Well, I called you here to tell you that you have a mission separate from the others...I want you to take care of Kagome. Your top priority is to keep her safe. This will take precedence over any other orders you are given, understand?"

Kurama narrowed his eyes at his boss. 

_I already knew that, _Youko sneered. _As her mate, that is only natural._

_We are not mated to her yet, _Shuuichi pointed out.

_A matter of time only, _Youko pointed out. _The commitment is already there._

Koenma sighed and pressed on. "Yusuke has orders to prepare you to go and find that last shard here in modern times. When will Kagome be ready?"

At that, Kurama did growl at this employer and snarled angrily, "She has only just returned from an ordeal. I will not allow her to be placed in danger until she is prepared for it."

"But-"

"I am following the order you just gave me, sir. Her health is more important then that damned shard!" Kurama towered over the small ruler and glared with golden eyes.

Koenma blinked and bit his pacifier. "Right... how long?" he persisted. "The barrier," he reminded the fox heavily of the other problems that he was juggling.

"A few weeks." 

"Weeks?!" Koenma squeaked and then sighed at the unmoving countenance of his smartest detective. "Fine..."

Kurama nodded and turned to Botan who was hovering in the background. Wordlessly, she opened the portal back up and followed him through. When they were standing at the base of the shrine steps again, she sighed and stared at the well house. "Sorry. I tried to tell him that she wasn't ready..."

"It's okay. Besides, now I have a valid reason to ignore his more idiotic pronouncements if they put her in danger." Youko grinned in satisfaction from Kurama's face.

She smiled and pushed him lightly in the back. "Go on, she's waiting for you."

Waving once, he leapt up the stairs and to his future mate. Botan smiled at his exuberance and wondered at the changes she saw in all her companions. Add one miko in the mix and everything changes...she snuck a look over her shoulder and took off for the well before Koenma could stop her and demand that she do some other job to fill her time...if she didn't know better, she'd say her boss was jealous...

The blue light wrapped around her lovingly and she sang lightly to herself as she went is search of her hanyou...

*****************************************************************************

well, all the action will start in the next update! The final hunt is on! Thank you to all the reviewers and I hope to hear from you soon!


	55. Preparations

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading this...I wanted to apologize for the wait that you had this time, but with midterms and spring break at my mothers without a computer, I was busy and I also had complications with family being in the hospital. All in all, this should have been posted last week, but I wanted time to revise and rewrite the last chapter (again) so that I could at least be satisfied with the way the story was coming together.

These chapters (and there were five, now two, in this update) are at least twice as long as normal and that's just cause I was too lazy to edit stuff out this time or to work on splitting the chapters into smaller pieces. So try to get through them and let me know if I should go back and shorten them. 

Also, another note, when the e-mail reviews got backlogged on FF.net, they really messed them up. Instead of receiving the later ones when they "fixed the glitch" I got one review copied about fifty times. So, if there were any questions that don't involve giving away the ending, ask again! 

For those of you reading the other two stories as well, I'll be updating_ I Thought Hell Was Supposed to Burn _in a few days and _Instincts _will have a new chapter next week,...I guess that is all...__

Enjoy this extra long chapter and review if you want! Remember, criticism is good. Flaming to be mean is bad...

Thanks!

( the very not dead but humbled author) Sylvannastar

Preparations

***********

Kurama returned to shrine without a thought of checking on his own family. Kagome was his first priority, not only because of Koenma's new assignment, but because her health mattered more to him then any thing else. Remembering to announce his presence this time, Kurama bypassed the window as an entrance and knocked politely on the front door. He smiled slightly when his acute hearing picked up the thrumming steps of the younger Higurashi sibling flinging himself down the stairs in an effort to be the first to the door. Standing slightly to the side, he waited for Souta to appear and invite him inside.

He was not disappointed, for no sooner had the door swung inward, then the excited child snagged him by the hand and dragged him willingly into the home. Souta chattered with great enthusiasm at the tall boy who had come to visit. "Shuuichi-san! I thought you might come by today! I saw Kagome's things were back this morning," he began.

Ms. Higurashi leaned through the doorframe of the kitchen, where she spent the majority of her time, to smile happily at the red head calmly standing in her hallway. "Good morning," she greeted him, with a smile so like her daughter's, Kurama automatically smiled back with a wide grin. "I'll call your mother and let her know you are here," she announced, somehow knowing that the boy had not informed Shiori Minamino of his whereabouts.

Kurama nodded his acceptance and thanked her. He knew his mother was probably worrying again, but Kagome had to come first now and for the rest the his life. She was the light he needed to lead him through the dark and save him from the troubled loneliness that had consumed him before she agreed to be a part of his life. Now, he needed her to be close to him, needed her to realize that she required his presence just as much.

Kurama took advantage of a lull in the one-sided conversation to ask politely, "Is Kagome home?"

Souta rolled his eyes and opened his mouth wide to bellow up the wide stair well, "KAGOME! COMPANY!"

Youko cringed at the decibel that the human child had managed to achieve and nudged the other half of his mind in annoyance. _You know fully well that she is here. We left, ourselves, only a short time ago._

"I know that," he muttered out loud, and received a questioning look from Souta's bouncy form.He looked at the boy innocently enough to receive a shrug and a bland look in return. 

"KAGOME!" the boy yelled again with out warning.

The ringing in his ears multiplied and Kurama rubbed his forehead with the back of one deceptively delicate hand. Youko grumbled in the background about the common courtesy lacking in children and imagining how his children would be perfect creatures full of charm and nobility to rival any blue-blood Youkai. Especially if they took after his perfect mate, ...Kagome?...Kurama blinked and rubbed his eyes before trying to focus again. Kagome sauntered down the hall in nothing but an oversized white t-shirt that you could see through enough to tell that her underwear was a unique shade of red, and with her feet incased in a pair of rainbow striped toe socks. She was scratching her head of bed tousled hair and yawning hugely. 

She paused at the top of the landing and blinked sleep fogged eyes at the two human shaped blurs below her. "Eh?" she yawned again. "What is all the yelling about?" 

"COMPANY!" Souta bellowed again without need, and raced up the stairs and past his sister's confused form.

"Company?" she repeated perplexed and glanced back down at the other figure. Her mind fully functioning now, registered the word, the situation, and the visitor before she turned a rather hideous shade of red. "K-Kurama? I wasn't expected you back so soon..." she tugged in embarrassment at the bottom of her shirt and danced on her toes as if the motion would relieve her of her sudden nervousness. 

Kurama felt his mouth kick up at the corners against his will and gave in to the light chuckling that was a mere remnant of the belly laugh that Youko was threatening to shake from his more dignified counterpart. 

Kagome took immediate offence and fisted her hands at her sides. "It's not that funny," she protested and tried and failed to push the tangled mass of hair into a more normal, if frizzy, style. She frowned at the chuckling red head and tapped her foot impatiently on the top step which only served to bring his attention to it.

Kurama swept his eyes down her bare legs and settled with amusement on the ugly knee high socks encasing each toe in a separate hue. "It's not?" he questioned her before winking at her flustered face.

Kagome blushed, knowing full well that she looked a mess and that the socks were a bit unusual. She wiggled her toes at him playfully and squashed her embarrassment for the moment. "I guess you should know," she whispered as if she was imparting a deeply hidden secret, and grinned when Kurama leaned forward to play his role, "I don't always look my best in the morning..." She nodded at his totally disbelieving look and wiggled her toes again before using her elevated height as an excuse to point her brightly colored foot under his nose.

Kurama couldn't contain the laugh that bubbled up out of him and grabbed the multicolored appendage in one hand and poised the other just under her knee in a light hold. "No?" he finally worked out between his and her giggles. "I think you look adorable."

Kagome grinned like a fool and tugged her leg from his grasp so that she could return to her sanctuary and prepare herself to face the world and all its demons...literally. Before she could ask him to wait while she showered and dressed, another knock sounded at the door.

Souta flung himself out of his bedroom and gained speed as he raced down the hall. He ignored the panicked look on his sisters face as he rushed to the door again. Sweeping past his cringing sister, Souta skipped every three steps and jumped over Kurama as he suddenly ducked out of the way. He reached the door with a loud thud and rubbed the stinging of his palms absently as he pulled the door open again to grin at the new visitor. Taking one look at the person on the other side, Souta turned around and belted out another chorus of "KAGOME! VISITORS!" Before scampering off toward the kitchen and safety from the dark look his sister was glaring down on him. He waved playfully at her as he rounded the corner and left the door wide open for the newest arrivals to step inside.

Kagome clenched her eyes shut and drew in a deep breath in an attempt to lose the blush she knew was raging out of control. She covered her face with one hand and peeked through the cracks between her fingers to find the amused gaze of a person she knew and the more bemused one of another she did not. Snapping her fingers back together with a groan of dismay, Kagome whispered, "Hello Hiei," and considered running to her room in embarrassment but figured that both the fire apparition and the woman beside him had already seen her and it would have been a pointless move.

Hiei snorted and led Yukina to stand next to the laughing fox near the bottom of the stairs. "What happened to you?" he asked bluntly.

Kagome dropped her hand to her side so that he could see the glare she aimed at him. It seemed to have no effect on the jagonashi, but the woman at his side fidgeted nervously with her aqua hair and the full blue sleeves of her traditional kimono. "Nothing," she replied in a clipped tone and tried to smile reassuringly at the other female.

"Don't bother lying. I can sense it, remember?" Hiei crossed his arms and looked her over. "You look like hell."

Kagome doubled her efforts at glaring and twisted her fingers together to relieve the purifying itch that had reflexively settled at her finger tips due to her anger. Kurama sobered and frowned at the shorter demon staring at the half clothed form of his mate to be. 

"Well?" Hiei demanded relentlessly.

"I had a bad dream," she snarled and yanked her fingers through the knotted ends of her hair. "After Kurama left, I had nightmares about," she shuddered," Naraku."

Kurama sent her an understanding look and nodded his head toward the open doorway of her bedroom. "Go get cleaned up and dressed, love. We'll wait here for you."

Kagome smiled in gratitude and bowed slightly to the strange woman blinking up at her. "Please forgive me, I hope we can talk when I get back. It will be a pleasure to get to know you..." Kagome smiled at her and twirled around to return to her room before she embarrassed herself more.

_*****************************************************************************_

Yusuke rearranged Koenma's files for the third time that morning and stared at the same information that had been there each time. Trying a new shuffle and splay method, he randomly set out a handful of pages and started reading again. Yusuke dropped the stack of wrinkled papers back into the pile and spun around in the chair as he thought.

"Yusuke," Koenma whined as he entered the room. "Why are you here again? Don't you have a date or something?" he begged.

"Nope." 

The chair made another circle in protest and screeched loudly, the hideous sound sending shivers down the spine of the young Reikai prince. "What ARE you doing?" he finally asked with a sigh.

"Working," the teenager answered and began to spin about in the opposite direction. 

"Right. Go home, Yusuke." Koenma pouted beside the desk. "Let me have my chair and desk back." 

Yusuke snorted but stopped the spinning so that he could stare at the diminutive figure of his boss. "No way. I intend to find out about the barrier and fix this damned problem once and for all." Yusuke was serious and pointed to the growing stack of files listing cases of low level demons living it up in the human world. 

Koenma sighed and let his shoulders droop. He waved a dismissive hand at the Tentai and plopped on the floor where his stamp pad had made a temporary home while Yusuke refused to leave. Fiddling with the handle and remembering the good ole days where nothing but a few files passed his way on their way through routine paperwork, Koenma felt the weight of his age, which was significantly more then what he looked.

"Shouldn't you at least be preparing for the shard hunt that you are supposed to lead?" Koenma reminded the boy. "Have you even talked to the others?"

"Just Kurama," Yusuke shrugged. "Can't go anywhere till Kagome is ready, he said. I didn't bother to tell the others yet since Kurama made it known that Kagome wasn't going anywhere for a while yet." Yusuke whirled around in another circle as he turned the thoughts about in his mind. "Speaking of Kagome, what was it you needed to know about her and the barrier? Did you find any leads?"

Koenma jumped up and shouted in surprise, "That's right! I almost forgot that! GEORGE," he hollered for the blue ogre. He ignored Yusuke's inquisitive look and pounced on the innocent oni as he walked in the door.

"AAAHH!" George yelled and tried to shake the small prince off his leg. "Oh! Lord Koenma, you surprised me...What do you need?"

"The reports for barrier crossings," he announced. "What are the numbers?"

"Well, only three today, sir. About half of what we had yesterday and that brings the total to..." he started to count on his fingers and muttered numbers off under his breath.

"I'm not worried about totals. What I want is a comparison of the number of demons that have crossed recently to those of...say last week?" He stared expectantly at the skeptical face of his employee. 

"I would have to check the status," he said and raised his clawed finger to his lips, "But it is significantly less..."

"Good enough for me!" Koenma cheered and released his employee's leg.

"Do you think that the barrier is repairing itself now?" George asked hopefully.

Koenma shook his head and shooed the reikai employee from the room with orders for what food to prepare for the day's first breakfast.

"What are you getting at?" Yusuke dropped his chin into his hands and fingered the warn papers again. 

"Just an observation I made last time that Kagome was here in her own time..." Koenma grinned and called for his first tray of food for the morning. 

"Which would be what?" Yusuke asked in agitation.

"Only that there is a correlation between Kagome's presence in the correct time period and the weakness of the barrier." Koenma shrugged and bounced impatiently on his toes.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Yusuke shouted.

"I don't know," Koenma admitted and pointed out, "I think maybe that the barriers through time and space are related and that when someone or something is displaced from its own time, it effects the barriers between worlds too."

"You think? So this is all her fault!" Yusuke leapt to his feet.

"I didn't say that, Yusuke. It is just a theory and Kagome's time travel is just as necessary as your travel through realms. It can't be her fault if it was something that she was fated to do." Koenma rubbed his head and sucked on his pacifier to sooth his growing concern for the impending breakdown of the binding that separated the worlds.

"That's it?" 

"Yeah."

"..."

" I know," Koenma shook his head and sighed at Yusuke's disappointed look. "But at least it's a start."

******************************************************************************

Yukina and Kagome were laughing quietly at one another while the two boys stole nervous glances at them from time to time. "I knew that they would make fast friends," Kurama pointed out to the fire apparition seated beside him at the table.

Hiei rolled his eyes but kept a wary eye on the two females. It wasn't long after the girls had first spoken that he had realized that their fast friendship would be unhealthy for him and the fox..."Why do I get the feeling that they are plotting something?" he muttered to himself and eyed them suspiciously. He already knew that he could not get into Kagome' s mind and Yukina was too attuned to him for him to get away with invading hers. He scowled at their continuous giggles and nudged the nervous fox sitting beside him. "Is this normal behavior for females?"

"Do I look like I would know?" Kurama jumped at the contact. 

_Yes._

"Youko says 'yes' it is." He corrected himself.

"Hn." A short pause and more giggling put Hiei under the impression that something was going to happen. "Is this dangerous?" he asked.

_More then you know..._

Kurama scowled at the tense words that Youko uttered and merely nodded to the jagonashi at his side.

"Should we put a stop to it?" Hiei continued and joined Kurama in scowling at the two women ignoring them. 

_Full of questions today, isn't he? _Youko smirked but kept a wary eye on the plotting females. In his experience, there was nothing more dangerous then a pack of women, and though there were only two present now, He knew that sooner or later, they would be joined by various others of the same sex for the sole purpose of finding ways to make men's lives miserable. He shuddered, thinking about Botan, Keiko and Shizuru making an alliance with the women shamelessly consorting in front of him.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Kurama leaned in to whisper. 

"A distraction?" Hiei offered and fingered the hilt of sword absently.

"Perfect," Kurama grinned and took a few moments to compose himself before clearing his throat to get the girls' attention. "Kagome, what was it you were going to ask Hiei?"

Kagome looked up suddenly and seemed surprised to see them there. She blushed lightly and turned to face the two men trying to look innocent and unruffled. Suddenly serious she looked Hiei in the eye and spoke. "You offered me help once, I wish to know if you would still consider taking me as a student..."

Hiei narrowed his eyes at the request and thought about the implications of his past words and the need that she had for such training. Nodding once, he crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair back. He felt a sharp kick catch him in the ankle and he slanted a look at the innocent face of Kurama. 

"Distraction!" the fox hissed quietly.

Hiei scowled and glared down at the wood grain visible on the table top. Before he could actually find a way to split the two women apart, Kagome offered him the perfect opportunity.

"When can we start?" she asked him excitedly and stared with her blue grey eyes sparkling in gratitude. 

"Hn," he answered. "Now."

"Now?" she blinked and saw the surprise on Hiei's own face and hesitated. "You are sure?"

"Now," he repeated firmly and left the room in a flash of movement.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Kagome?" Kurama asked her and pulled out the chair she was seated in so that she could stand to follow the fire demon outside.

"Yes. I have to do something..." she replied. The two others followed her from the house to the courtyard under the God Tree where Hiei was standing as he had been waiting for ages. She approached his still form slowly. "Ah, I don't own a sword...Hiei can you still teach me?"

"Hn."

After her last 'adventure' in the past, Kagome knew she couldn't put off training herself any longer. Her complete inability to fend off Naraku at all, proved her vulnerability in a way that she could no longer deny: experience. She tensed and touched the thin scar that marred her cheek. It marked her. Every time that she ever looked at her reflection, she would be reminded of that hanyou and her own helplessness. 

Kurama ran his fingers over that same mark but the love in his eyes never wavered. "It's just a scar, Kagome. It only means that you have been through things that others haven't and had the strength to survive."

She smiled weakly at him and leaned into his touch. It wasn't his words that brought her comfort, but his faith in her ability to grow stronger from her experiences.

"Baka. What else would it mean?" Hiei scoffed.

At that, Kagome's eyes widened. Trust Hiei to find the bluntest way to dismiss a useless concern. "Yes," she nodded to herself. "I'm ready."

"Hn. Follow me," Hiei led her into the sunny courtyard. At their arrival, the birds hushed and the breeze died down. Thin waves of heat rose up from the stone foundations, making distant images blur and shimmer. 

Hiei positioned himself across from his new human pupil and wondered what he had gotten himself into. He drew his sword watching her curious reactions. She was stiff with determination but she eyed the blade distrustfully. That, he decided, was the first thing that he would have to correct. 

He marched up to her, ignoring the protective position Kurama and Yukina had placed themselves in behind them. The turned the blade around and thrust the hilt as the jumpy ningen staring in wide eyed fascination at the weapon. "Here," he muttered moodily.

Kagome gingerly took the sword, surprised by the weight of such a thin strip of metal. She held her knees together, feet splayed and watched him.

He glowered at her. "Have you picked up nothing after watching others fight for so long?" he ask her in disbelief.

She flushed red in embarrassment, then glared right back at him. "That," she practically yelled, "is why you are teaching me!"

"Oh, dear." Yukina covered her mouth with her hand. "They haven't even started yet..."

"No and with two stubborn tempers like that," Kurama sighed, " this may prove to be disastrous." Kurama turned his attention back to the loud pair, fascinated by the exchange between them. Youko was enjoying the scene and laughing uproariously in his mind. 

"Hold it like this, Baka!"

"Like this?"

"Hell no! Not unless you want to kill yourself to save your enemy the bother!"

"This?"

"Kuso! Here, give me that!"

"No! I can get it!"

"Pathetic human, give it here!"

"No!"

THUNK

"Ouch!"

"....sorry...."

"At least you are holding it correctly now."

"I am? Hey! Kurama, look! That was almost a compliment!" Kagome cheered brightly.

Kurama bit back a smile and fought to hold in the laughter that threatened to spill out. Her exuberance was in complete contrast to Hiei's resigned bad temper, it was comical. He waved at her in acknowledgment and watched her turn back to Hiei.

"Now what?"

"Now," he snarled, "you hold it."

"I am holding it, Hiei."

"Until you stop doing it wrong, I'll have you stand there until it's reflex that you do it correctly!" he yelled.

"Hmph! Some training..." she muttered.

Five minutes later she started talking to herself. "Who knew just holding a sword could be so tiring..." she sighed. She started to shift her grip automatically.

"Don't you dare," Hiei said dangerously.

She scowled at him, but relented.

Another ten minutes passed in silence. Kagome desperately wanted to drop the damn thing and rub her arms. She grit her teeth instead and glared at the short fire demon that was conversing with Kurama and Yukina across the clearing. She could hear the occasional "hn," he contributed to the discussion.

"Bastard," she breathed. She blinked when he looked up at her, red eyes glinting. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" When the slightest smirk flitted over his stern features, she knew that he could hear her. "I won't give up, you know. I may not know how to use a sword yet," she whispered, "but that doesn't mean that I am completely defenseless. I have my own ways to get revenge." She was satisfied when he suddenly looked a bit worried. The look quickly vanished, replaced by his habitual scowl, and he turned his back on her. Kagome couldn't resist the urge and stuck her tongue out at him.

That is when she knew, it was going to be torture that would rival Naraku's sadistic pleasure to learn to use a sword from Hiei...

****************************************************************************** 

Yusuke was finally convinced to leave the Reikai for his own realm and strode down the street with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He glared as he picked up the aura of several demons with his own half developed senses. Even after all that training, his spirit awareness was the only thing that still came hard to him. But that was what Kuwabara was for. 

"Urameshi!"

Speaking of which, the orange haired human was shoving his way through the crowd to reach his team leader. "Yo."

Kuwabara fell into step beside him and tried to start a conversation that did not include fighting with the other Tentai. "Oi, where you been?" he asked.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "Around."

"Doing Reikai business? Koenma still sending you out on shit missions?" he persisted.

"No," Yusuke scowled. "The puny bastard has us on leave until he knows what we are up against. Stupid demons invading my city..." he growled. 

"Yeah, I noticed that there are a lot more of them than there used to be. They just keep coming... Maybe they aren't all bad, though." he sighed and scratched the back of his neck with blunt tipped fingers.

"Already had that conversation," Yusuke nodded. "You can count the number of demons that have the good of humanity on their minds on one fist."

"Yukina," Kuwabara reminded his friend quietly. 

Yusuke stopped mid-step and blinked at his friend in surprise. "You're right," he agreed slowly.

"You don't have to sound so shocked," Kuwabara frowned. He hesitated with his eyes cast down until Yusuke resumed walking. "Hey, Yusuke?"

Yusuke stopped again and turned wide-eyed to face the larger boy. As far back as he could remember, Kuwabara had called him Urameshi. He knew then that something must really be bothering the other boy.

"What?" he asked.

Kuwabara slanted him a searching look. "You knew? About Yukina?"

"Yukina?" Yusuke frowned and then went white. If Hiei thought that he had told, then the little fire demon would have no qualms about flaming his ass and Hiei wasn't the type to give him the benefit of a doubt. "What do you mean?" he hedged.

Pinching his mouth into an angry line, Kuwabara grit his teeth and forced Yusuke to meet his eyes. "Did you think that I wouldn't figure it out?" he demanded. "What the hell kinda friend are you?!"

Yusuke sighed and turned to the side. "It wasn't my place to say. It was between them. Hiei didn't want Yukina to know."

"You could have told me!" he shouted and clenched his fist to wave it in the air at the other detective.

"And you would have told Yukina!" Yusuke accused and shoved the fist from his face. "You and your damn honor wouldn't have made it past the first time her eyes got all big and sad while her searching always dead-ended."

Kuwabara bit his lip and let his shoulders sag unhappily. "I feel like a fool. She probably thinks I am too."

Yusuke snorted and started walking again. "Normally, I would agree. But this is Yukina we are talking about. She couldn't hold a grudge against anyone. Hell, I don't even think that it is possible for her to dislike someone. And if the past two years are any indication, the girl likes you...for whatever reason..."

"Maybe," Kuwabara sighed. 

"How did you find out anyway? Finally notice the way they kinda look alike?" Yusuke flicked his fingers against a wall as they passed.

"She told me."

Yusuke stopped again and faced Kuwabara. "She knows now too?"

"Hiei was there."

"Well, damn..." 

"Yeah."

They continued in silence for a short time before Yusuke nudged his friend in the side. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"Some," he admitted and sighed loudly. "I'm okay now. I wasn't then, you know. Hiei and I don't actually get along too good."

Yusuke tipped his head in understanding and then tapped at the graffitied wall again. "Well, I need to do some training anyway. Lets go to the temple. Then I need to talk to everyone later about our next mission."

Kuwabara smiled in gratitude for Yusuke's unspoken support and picked up his pace considerably. "Okay. I wonder what she is doing right now. She always likes to watch us training..." he grinned and pushed Yusuke along.

******************************************************************************

"Pick it up" Hiei told her with a scowl.

Kagome sighed but did as she was told. The short break had done her worlds of good. A quick bite to eat and a cool drink had improved her temper considerably. Yukina had offered to heal her, but she wasn't actually injured yet, just sore, and that would have been cheating. 

"Good."

"Huh?" Kagome looked up. Surprisingly enough, her hands had automatically returned to the correct position. "Wow," she commented drily. "I can hold a sword."

"Baka," he said, a hint of good natured playfulness coloring his tone.

"Can we do something different now?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes. I will show you various stances," he announced. "Watch me closely."

"Why?"

"Why what?" he rolled his eyes.

"The stances; what are they for?"

Hiei shook his head, bemused by her question. "Because swinging a sword changes the way you balance your body. When the sword becomes an extension of yourself, you must compensate for that added length and weight."

"Oh."

"I have never taught a woman before..."he grumbled, trying to maneuver her into position.

"So?"

"So, men and women are different."

She giggled.

He glared her into silence. "A man's normal point of balance is here," he indicated his mid-section upward. "A woman's is in the hips. A lower center of gravity may make this easier for you."

"Hn," she agreed mischievously.

He glared at her innocent face and turned to the fox resting casually in the shade of the giant god tree. "How do you put up with her?" he grumbled to the red head. Yukina covered her mouth to hide her own grin and failed.

"Hey!" she protested. "At least wait until I'm not here to insult me!"

"What is the fun in that?" he snorted.

"Hn," she repeated mutinously.

"Just do what I do," he prodded her back into form.

She sighed. This was so much more work that what it appeared. Inuyasha just swung his sword around so easily...then again, she winced, maybe Inuyasha wasn't the best example of good technique. She began to match Hiei, move to move, and started to actually enjoy the dance.

******************************************************************************

For the first time in two years, Genkai's shrine stood empty. Feeling bad for the depressed Kuwabara, Yusuke offered to do some sparing with him. He agreed, though it was with little enthusiasm, and began to have their first serious spar since before the second tournament. 

Kuwabara had been steadily training himself since they had begun their jobs as detectives for Reikai and if there was one thing that kept him working to get stronger, it had been Yukina's constant admiration and support. It felt strange to him without her there, but he would not be bitter when she had finally found her family...even if it was Hiei. He didn't have to like it, but he could tolerate it without complaint.

He had grown more then the others thought, though it was well hidden behind his goofy appearance and gruff exterior. He was the most intuitive of the lot, Genkai had said it was because, like children, Kuwabara had not lost the innocence of his soul. Hiei said it was because he lacked intelligence. That might be true to an extent, but when it came to matters that Kuwabara judged to be of the highest importance, like family and honor, and holding standards for your self, he was the strongest of them. In a way, they had to respect him for that. Kuwabara would never sell out. Not for any reason.

And as much as they picked on him for it, they never wanted to see him without that confidence that came from both his naivety and faith in the good of the world. And in his eyes right now, there was doubt.

Yusuke winced as Kuwabara managed to throw some unexpectedly quick punches at him that he was not fully prepared for. Whether it was just the circumstances or if Yusuke just hadn't been paying enough attention to his comrade lately to notice, he knew now that Kuwabara's skills had improved immensely. "Whoa, there!" he protested and retrieved his balance before the other boy could press his advantage. "You've been working on those moves, haven't you?" he sounded impressed.

Kuwabara wiped at his pug nose with the arm of his shirt. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Yukina helps me..."

"Yukina?" Yusuke frowned. They were back to her again and the shadow still existed in his friend's eyes. "What does she do? Cheerlead?" he joked to lighten the mood.

Kuwabara grew very serious and refused to be baited. "She spars with me sometimes."

Yusuke fell flat on his face as he faulted in his lunge at the taller boy. "EH!" he spat out. "Yukina!?" he said clearly disbelieving.

"There are a lot of things that you don't know about her...or me." Kuwabara said getting a little angry at all the assumptions the team leaders was revealing that he had made. "She is sweet and innocent and perfect. Genkai taught her how to defend herself, though she admitted that she could never bring herself to actually harm someone, evil or not. She's stronger then she looks..."

"Apparently..." Yusuke sighed and shook his head. With all the secrets coming to light, it was proving to be a rather eventful day. Yusuke could only wonder what was coming next.


	56. The Final Hunt

The Final Hunt

******************************************************************************

After several hours of tackling one another, Yusuke called a halt to the sparing session and convinced Kuwabara to help him find the others so that he could have that meeting that he had been putting off. He was slightly surprised when they arrived at the bottom of the shrine stairs to Kagome's home.

Yusuke squared his shoulders in determination before climbing the long set of shrine stairs. Kuwabara was gingerly pushing himself up beside him, the breath huffing from between clenched teeth. 

"You sure they are up there?" Yusuke demanded from about ten steps up as he eyed the rest of them distastefully. 

Kuwabara gave him a dirty look and rubbed the darkening bruise on one forearm. "Of course I am," he answered. "Yukina's here too."

Yusuke shut his eyes and shook his head. "I refuse to be surprised again by anything concerning your girlfriend." Following Kuwabara around tokyo had proved amusing in its own ways. The taller boy easily followed the trail left behind by Hiei since he had made no effort to hide himself, as if there were an invisible line connecting them...like a "pinky string of love" that existed in the baka's mind between him and Yukina. Yusuke chuckled, remembering that time when he had believed his friend had finally flipped out and was in need of some serious therapy.

Kuwabara turned a becoming shade of pink and returned to climbing the stairs of the sunset shrine. When they finally reached the top, the sense of accomplishment deserted them in favor of dumbfounded astonishment.

"What the hell?!" Yusuke bit out.

Four pairs of eyes snapped over to him; the grateful blue of their newest member, two pair of identical red, though one was narrowed in agitation and the other widened in cheerful welcome, and the amused green gold of Kurama with Youko in attendance. 

Kuwabara knew that his mouth was gaping open but he couldn't sem to regain enough control of his senses to snap it closed. He blinked heavily and rubbed at his eyes with two calloused fists. Sure enough, when he looked again, Kagome was still holding a shaking sword to Hiei's neck, the jaganashi's own sword at that! "Uh..." he grunted and held his hand out, palms up, "Hi, guys?"

Hiei calmly pushed the deadly sharp blade away from his skin and gave Kagome the okay to sheath the weapon. "Hn, better," he muttered, "but still too slow. I could have killed you in ten different ways in just the last two seconds."

Kagome sighed and stumbled over to Kurama to fall limply into his arms. "Urgh," she answered and buried her face in his chest.

"What ARE you doing?" Yusuke quirked a dark brow at the group.

"Hn."

"Training," Kagome's muffled voice replied from somewhere in Kurama's arms.

"Training," Yusuke repeated and sighed. "Right."

Yukina patted the other girl on the shoulder comfortingly and murmured consoling phrases to the sweaty miko. Kurama had explained why Kagome was pushing herself so hard and shuddered in sympathy. She had been in a similar situation herself and had responded in much the same way. Genkai had taken her in and given her the same opportunity to rescue herself should something similar happen again. Yukina had gripped the chance with her whole heart and for a time, dedicated herself to becoming stronger, more skilled. And she had also hoped to make her missing brother proud should she ever find him.

Kagome had experienced that same helplessness and was just as determined to defeat it before it could defeat her. Naraku's mark on her soul really had motivated the girl to seek out the instruction she needed to prevent further harm.

She noticed that Yusuke was staring at her and that Kuwabara wouldn't meet her eyes. Yukina moved, then, to stand in front of Kuwabara and twisted her hands together until he spoke.

"Yukina," he said quietly.

She peeked up at him and was gratified to see the acceptance and the hint of a smile in his eyes. She grinned and threw her arms around his trim waist and sighed appreciatively. The reserved and proper demoness was replaced by an emotional woman.

Grunting in surprise, he gently enfolded her in his arms and met Hiei's narrowed eyes.

"She was worried," the fire demon announced.

She pulled back enough to scowl at her brother but did not deny his words. She instead twisted up to peer at the tall human shyly. "I wasn't sure that you would come back..." she admitted. "You were angry when you left."

"Not at you, Yukina. Never at you," he patted her slim back. "I was just...upset. No one told me and everyone knew. I felt left out and stupid since I was the last one to figure it out..."

"Your not stupid, Kazuma!" Yukina cried out.

"Hn," Hiei snorted.

She took that as agreement and nodded happily. "See? Hiei agrees with me."

The slight tick in Hiei's right eye gave away the wince that the was holding in but it was enough to make Youko bust out in laughter.

"Quit that, Youko," Kagome's muffled voice berated the kitsune inside Kurama's body. Surprised, but trying to tame the howling laughter into more manageable sniggers, Youko giggled out, "How did you know it was me?"

"Kurama wouldn't laugh at such a serious moment for them," she pronounced in the same droopy manner that she was leaning her body against his. "And it's not like I can't tell the difference, you know. What are you doing out anyway?"

"I snuck up and pounced on my unsuspecting partner," he chuckled.

_Damn it, Youko! What are you playing at?!_

_Me? _He asked innocently.

_Dumb fox, _Shuuichi sighed. _It's not safe to transform here in the Ningenkai._

_I know that. That is why I'm still in Kurama's body, _he answered proudly. _I just wanted to hold her while she was being so willing._

_Idiot, _Kurama sighed.

Youko snootily put his nose in the air and said, "You're just jealous."

When he came back to the present, gold eyes were staring intently at laughing blue. "Talking to yourself again?" she questioned sweetly. "You know normally, that isn't heathy. In your case, I'm not so certain that I like the idea of being left out of your conversations with yourself..."

"Oh, don't worry," Youko smirked. "Those two never say anything interesting."

_Hey! _They protested in union.

Kagome just flicked his nose lightly and leaned back into him. "Be nice."

"What's fun about that?" he rumbled. 

She just chuckled and hid her face in his shoulder, content to let whoever was currently in charge to hold her up.

_Quit flirting and find out what Yusuke wants. He wouldn't have tackled all those stairs without reason, _Shuuichi prodded the silver fox.

_Ever the logical one, _Youko moaned but agreed. Lifting flashing eyes to the other tentais, he got their attention with one gruffly spoken word. "Oi!" he yelled until the courtyard was quiet.

_Oi?! Oi?! God, Youko! You're going to ruin my reputation!_

Everyone blinked at the red head currently rolling his golden eyes in exasperation. 

"Hn," Hiei answered, glad that the kitsune had broken the chain of endearments pouring from between his sister and her suitor. 

Yusuke peered closely at Kurama "Youko?" he said and then flopped back till he was laying on the hot pavement. "Aw, fuck it," He threw his hands up and continued. "I give in. Any other strange developments you guys wanna share with me?"

"Hn."

Kagome sniggered against Kurama's chest, tickling a smile from the kitsune spirit in control.

_Oi,_ he said again just to annoy his partner. _Kurama, I didn't realize you were so ticklish! _Youko sounded absolutely delighted by the discovery.

_Shut up, _Kurama said sourly.

"Well, what do you want fox?" Hiei cut in.

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and grinned.

"Hn."

WHAP!

Kagome smacked her support lightly in the arm. "Be serious," she admonished, but Youko could hear the humor in her muffled voice.

"Fine, fine," he sighed. "I just wondered what our new mission is, Yusuke."

"Eh?!" Yusuke kept his eyes trained on the clouds drifting through the sky. "Damned kitsune intuition," he muttered then sat up so suddenly that Yukina jumped. Kagome would have too if her face wasn't still plastered into her boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm calling a meeting," Yusuke announced.

"Hn."

"We can just do this now," Youko pointed out, "We're all here."

"Except Boton," Yusuke agreed. "Anyone seen her?"

"Hn."

"No."

"Nope."

"She's with Inuyasha."

"Oh?" Yusuke frowned.

Kagome waved a hand vaguely toward the well house without lifting her head.

"Mmm," Yusuke contemplated.

"I'll get her," Hiei said and vanished.

"Right," Yusuke flopped back in satisfaction. "Good."

Youko curved Kurama's lips up in a friendly smile at the strange human and quickly pulled it back into a frown when he heard an ominous counting in his head.

_Three...Two..._

_What are you guys-_

_ONE!_

_...._

_Shuuichi! _Kurama wailed unhappily.

_Sorry guys, my turn! _ The human laughed.

Youko growled unhappily from inside his head.

Kagome leaned back in curiosity when the energy around her changed drastically. Laughing green eyes twinkled down at her. "Shuuichi?" He nodded and hugged her happily, twirling her around a bit in his arms. She laughed then held limply to the human side of her future mate. 'Let me guess, you pounced?"

"Of course," he agreed.

"I thought Youko would be more aware then that," Hiei said arriving as quickly as he had departed. "I overestimated his ability."

_Grrrr..._Youko growled.

Hiei appeared above then in a tree branch with a struggling bundle of pink in his arms.

"It took two of us," the human admitted with a shrug, "but we got him with his own tricks."

"Hn," Hiei commented and jumped down to the ground where he dropped the wriggling ferry girl in a heap.

"Ouch! Damn it Hiei!" Botan protested and untangled herself from the excessive folds of clothing. "You could have just asked me and I would have come!"

"Hn."

"I'll 'Hn' you!" she announced and rolled a sleeve away from one clenched fist.

"Hn."

Botan snarled and prepared to leap at the fire demon in angry indignation. She was stopped when the well activated again, announcing Inuyasha's arrival.

"Oi, wench!" Inuyasha yelled. "What the hell did you just disappear for?" He gave them all suspicious looks but did not ask what they had been doing.

Botan visibly bristled and turned to grit her teeth at the amused fire apparition. "It wasn't voluntary."

"Feh!"

"Hn."

"I wish you would stop that," Botan sighed. "I know that you are both smart enough to hold a real conversation without relying on one word."

"That's right!" Yusuke said from where he was sprawled lazily in the sun. "You two share a lot of similar qualities." Two very unamused demons turned to glare at the tempting target he made.

"Funny," Shuuichi smirked. "We've often thought the same thing about you and Inuyasha, Yusuke."

"Hn." Hiei agreed.

"Feh!"

"Keh!" 

The three glared at each other and crossed their arms simultaneously.

"Hn."

"Feh!"

"Keh!"

"How amusing," Shuuichi laughed.

"Shut up!" Yusuke threatened. "All of you!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and ignored the boys. Glancing around, she caught Botan's eye and winked saucily. Botan's blush told her all that she needed to know. She flashed the ferry girl a smile and a thumbs up before turning back to her own male. Noticing that all his attention was on picking on the other members of his team, Kagome reached up and tweaked a lock of Shuuichi's crimson hair. "Shower first?" she asked hopefully.

Kurama finally turned back to Kagome and pulled her away form his shirt front. He pointed her in the direction of her home and couldn't resist swatting her lightly on her rear. "Go on," he smiled at her mock frown. He watched her drag herself over to the house and lean heavily on the door frame as she worked at the latch. Shuuichi finally gave in to Kurama's insistence that he be back in charge and moved aside. Kurama watched with concern until she disappeared into the house before he turned a suddenly disapproving stare on the jaganashi still engaged in a staring contest with the other two proud warriors. "You push her too hard, Hiei."

"Hn. She wasn't complaining," Hiei crossed his arms and glared back.

"She wouldn't," Kurama answered. "She is being driven by memories of her capture. You will be the one that has to call a halt when she tires. You will not push her to exhaustion."

Hiei recognized the demand for what it was but gave his friend a short nod.

Yukina only spared them each a glance before turning a concerned look toward the house where her new friend had disappeared.

"Is that what this is about?" Yusuke asked and frowned at them all. "She's strong as it is."

"Spiritually, yes. In combat, she is no more then a beginner," Hiei told his teammate.

"Feh! That's because I've always taken care of her," Inuyasha announced proudly and took his usual spot in the god tree. Botan stayed near him by standing at the base of the tree and running her fingers along the bare spot that marked his previous captivity.

"Fine job you did too," Yusuke muttered. Inuyasha managed to miss the sarcasm in Yusuke's voice and sat preening in the tree.

They spent the next fifteen minutes wrapped up in thoughts of their own while they waited for Kagome to return. When she stumbled out the door and over to them, she immediately fell back into Kurama's arms. With a hearty sigh, she grinned at them all and pronounced, "I'm ready now."

Yusuke shook his head but turned back to the topic at hand. Plans needed to be made. They had a shard to find and a jewel to finish... The only question was, where was it? 

******************************************************************************

Kagome woke up in good spirits. After determining that it was indeed time to search for the missing shard, she threw all of her efforts into preparing herself for the task...They would be leaving tomorrow, so she still had today to work on her skills.

After a few weeks of solid training in technique and form, Hiei concluded that she was ready to test her ability on a moving target. It was time to test her reflexes and let her instinct guide her actions. That meant she had to do a mock spar.

She was excited, her gradual improvement had been paying off at the expense of her soar muscles, but even that was beginning to fade. Kurama and Hiei were waiting for her outside. Yukina had not come today, promising her time to Kuwabara instead.

Hiei had not been pleased, but Yukina's gentle farewell hug had him smiling again and he quickly became rather pleasant company.

Kagome was skipping down her stairs when she sensed a third presence outside. _Inuyasha..._she hurried on, wanting to show her friend what she was doing. She stopped in the doorway, shocked to see the hanyou rolling around on the ground, laughing so hard tears were slipping down his face.

"You're _AHHahahhaha_ teaching _hahahaha_ her _hahaha _to what!? _AHHahahahah!"_

She silently fumed, the bright day going suddenly sour.

"Kagome _Ahhahaha_ and a hahaha sword!" the inu continued, unaware of the change in the atmosphere.

"Inuyasha," she said sweetly.

"Wha- hahaha what?" he asked.

"Sit."

WHAM!

It didn't deter the hanyou in the slightest. "Hehehe!"

"SIT!" she said with more force.

WHAM!

"hehe hmmmm," he finished and tried to pick himself off the ground. When the spell wore off and he was once again standing, he flashed his fangs at her. "Bitch."

The Youko in Kurama slammed the half demon back down into the concrete with a well placed fist.

Hiei watched this all unamused.

"If all you are gonna do is laugh at me," she fumed, "then you can just leave!"

"Keh!" Inuyasha picked himself up off the pavement and glared at the fox.

With Youko so close to the surface, Kurama gave Inuyasha a look that sent danger signals up the back of his neck. He turned up his nose at the fox, adopting a superior attitude clearly taken from observing his brother. "Baka kitsune."

Youko snarled a warning and let out a wave of his youki, telling the dog in no uncertain terms who here had the greatest power.

Kagome glanced around at the energy surge and sighed. "Youko Kurama Minamino!" she said dangerously.

The sound of all his various names rolled into one turned his head to face the fuming woman in shock. Hiei laughed outright and inwardly congratulated the girl for her inventive nature. 

"Don't you dare injure him! Botan would never forgive me!" she frowned.

"Eh!?" Inuyasha drew himself up and spat angrily. "I can handle this stupid fox!" 

"Sure," Kagome said absently and continued to stare at her boyfriend.

It rubbed Youko's fur the wrong way to accept her orders, but she was right. Cringing inside, Youko slunk back to watch the dog demon with growing resentment. First, the hanyou had her affections. Then, her friendship. Now, he had her protection! Growling under his breath, Kurama reigned in his jealousy and took comfort in knowing that she was his. 

"We are not going to spar today." Hiei finally said quietly. Kagome's gasp of dismay was cut off by the fire demon as he continued. "There is too much to prepare for our mission tomorrow. You will have all the opportunity you like to test your skills were we will be going," he assured her.

Disappointed, but understanding his reasons, Kagome let her shoulders droop and handed him back the blade she had been practicing with. 

Hiei took the sword and passed her another one that he had somehow hidden beside him. Kagome took the long sword and reverently touched it's carved hilt and matching sheath. "Wow," she breathed. Carved flames danced across the surface of the hilt and sheath, mixed with detailed carvings of two dragons with silver and ruby eyes and claws. They twined together at the top where they seemed to be battling or perhaps protecting one another, so close were they entwined. She ran her finger tips over the graceful curves of the serpent's tails and wings.

"That's yours now." Hiei stated and turned his face away.

"It's beautiful," she murmured. "Where did you get it?"

She could have sworn that she saw a faint tinge of pink settle in his cheeks before he answered. "I made it."

Her eyes widened as Kurama's narrowed. He could appreciate a masterpiece like that sword himself, and had no worries about her owning it. It was the fact that it was a gift...from another male that nagged at him. The jealous streak was stubbornly holding on and Youko was fighting to keep it under his control. He restrained himself as Kagome approached the fire apparition and hugged the demon tightly. 

"Thank you, Hiei," she whispered emotionally. "For everything you have done to help me..."

"Hn," he answered and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "It is only a sword," he said, trying to play it off as unimportant. 

"To others perhaps," she smiled. "But to me, it is very special..."

"Hn," Hiei lightly pushed her away and vanished into the trees. Kagome waved happily and ran over to show her newest treasure to Kurama. 

"You embarrassed him," the kitsune observed.

"I did not!" Kagome protested. "He did it himself. Besides, it IS the most beautiful sword I have ever seen." She saw him purse his lips and frown slightly and she waved away his concern. "Hiei is a great friend..." she said putting emphasis on the word friend. "To the both of us."

Finally smiling again, Kurama let go of the lingering negativity and rejoiced with his mate in her happiness over having such a good friend. "He is indeed," Kurama agreed and kissed her lightly before running his own hands over the blade. It was very well made...but then, you could expect nothing less from Hiei.

Kagome sighed and rubbed her arms as if chilled. "Kurama, are you worried at all about tomorrow?"

"No," he said after considering her question for a few minutes. "You will find the shard, Kagome. I have faith in you."

"It's not the search that worries me. It's what we will find when its all over. It's that I will have to face Naraku again after I have it. It scares me..."

"I have faith in you, Kagome." Kurama repeated and wrapped his arms around her from behind so that he could tuck his chin on top of her head. "And I will never let him take you again. I promise."

Feeling better, Kagome leaned back and stared at the waving leaves above them and found peace. "Thank you," she whispered.

Kurama smiled and left it at that.

After a few more quiet moments, Kagome stretched and pointedly shoved Kurama toward the stairs. Thinking to finally get the chance to pick on him for a change she said, "Time to start preparing. Go home Kurama. Spend this day with your mother...I don't know how long we will be gone. She misses you."

Kurama rolled his eyes but smiled before he caught her up in a kiss that took her breath from her body and made the ends of her hair tingle. "And you don't when I'm gone? I'll be back tonight," he whispered and then left her gaping at the spot he had last stood for several more minutes.

"Oh!" she grumbled. "He did it again! Just you wait Kurama! One of these times, you're going to be the one standing here too confused to move!" She wasn't certain, but she thought she heard him chuckling from around the corner. Just for good measure, she blew a kiss in that direction and retreated to the house to dig out the massive yellow bag that had enjoyed a small vacation while she spent that last few weeks home. Now, it was time to start another adventure...

******************************************************************************

They had agreed to meet at Yusuke's that morning before jumping the portal for Reikai. Kagome hefted her giant bag onto her shoulder and nervously attached her new sword to her waist and her bow in one fist. Her quiver of arrows was smashed between her back and her pack in case she needed to drop the oversized burden in a hurry. She tiptoed out of the house as quietly as she could by avoiding the creaky floorboards and the third stair down so that she wouldn't wake her family. She winced as the old house made a groan of protest as it settled. She made it to the door and out of the house before the distressed sound had finished reverberating off the walls.

Kagome sighed and skipped away from her home and its occupants. She hated to leave them all the time, but the jewel was a harsh task master that requested more then her time and attention. It demanded it. Kagome was no more free to choose to walk away from this task then Sesshoumaru was to walk away from his responsibilities in his lands. That is why he would not be joining them here in the future on this final hunt...and his pride might not survive it if the well refused him. 

Inuyasha had woken her up early this morning but trouncing on her and Kurama in her bed. Kagome shook her head at the memory and considered what she could do to get the playful dog back for waking her up so rudely. He had been all excited to start this trip...perhaps because he was going to be seeing Botan's world for the first time and that he was going to be doing some scouting work for the Reikai when he returned home. The idea of rubbing such a job in his brother's face was too much of a temptation to ignore. Grinning at her while she tried to pull her blanket out of his clawed grasp and over her head, he announced that he was going to leave early with Botan to see the Reikai prince about "Important business." Kagome was rather unimpressed by his declaration but waved a cheery hand at him as he paced the room and jumped back out the window. Soon after, Kurama made his own way home to retrieve his own pack of essentials before returning to get her.

This though made Kagome smile as she tripped awkwardly down the stairs. Mindful of the weight of her things on her back, she knew that such a fall could damage her immensely, both physically and her pride if anyone saw her take that tumble. She reached the bottom stair and with a gusty breathe of relief, she plopped down on it so that the bag rested on the step above her without her having to take it off. 

It was a quiet kind of summer morning, early enough so that the majority of mankind still slept, ignorant of a teenaged girl's ongoing quest to save the world... and she intended to ensure that it remained that way.

A few birds chirped brightly as the sun strengthened and Kagome glanced around vaguely until a lonely plod of old gum seated beside her caught her attention. She wrinkled her nose at the filthy remains that appears to have been stepped on several times already and scowled at the memory of scrapping similar lumps from the edges of her home before. She scooted slightly away, hoping to ignore the sticky substance long enough to escape absentmindedly touching it. 

"Kagome!"

She twisted around in surprise, which was harder then it should have been with all the stuff attached to her and found her mother descending the stairs with her purse dangling from one elbow. Kagome waved with mock energy until her mother reached her level and stood in front of her. Seeing that her mother was about to join her, Kagome gestured at the gum and directed her to her other side. 

"I am glad that you are still here," Mrs. Higurashi began with a pleased smile. "I wanted to say goodbye before you left."

"We all said goodbye last night," Kagome reminded her mother but grinned in pleasure anyway.

"I know, but it is hard to catch you alone anymore, to talk. Usually, when you are not gone in the past, you and I got some time together. Now," her smile turned mischievous, "that delightful young man of yours is around."

Kagome bit her lip to hide the grin that came unbidden to her face at the mere mention of Kurama. She prayed then that she wasn't about to get "The Talk" for the fourth time in her life, though admittedly, Ji-chans attempt had bordered on hilarious. "He's not here THAT much," she attempted but couldn't meet her mother's eyes.

"He's here more then you let on." Mrs. Higurashi shook her head at her daughter. "I may be getting old and outdated, but I'm still your mother. I am fully aware that he spent the night here again last night."

Kagome widened her shocked eyes and protested, "Mom! You're not old and outdated!" She followed that up with a whimper as she dropped her head into her raised knees and hid from the knowing look on her mother's face. "It's not like that," she managed to burble out.

"It's not?" the obvious tone of disappointment in her mother's voice sent Kagome's head shooting back up so that she could stare at the older woman in shock.

"Mom!"

"It's okay, dear." she sighed. "Shiori and I were just so glad that you two found each other. We had hoped..." she trailed off.

"Mom!" Kagome choked out while the blood rushed to her face. "It's not...I haven't...We never..." She sighed and looked her mother in the eye so that she could explain to the best of her ability. "It is like that...just not yet. Kurama stays with me because I have...nightmares."

Mrs. Higurashi's attitude changed suddenly as she stopped teasing her daughter and became very serious. "Nightmares?" she asked looking for clarification. 

Kagome nodded and reached up to trace the thin scar that was barely noticeable on her cheek before dropping her gaze. "I feel so silly for being scared of a dream,"she explained, "but when he stays with me, all those bad memories disappear somehow. I feel safer with him there."

"Oh, Kagome," her mother sighed and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "This won't go on forever." she assured her daughter. "I know that it is your destiny to do this, but there is always an afterward of peace to follow such hard times. You'll see."

Kagome stayed in her mothers arms until she noticed an extra pair of feet beside her own. She blinked several times and pulled away from the maternal comfort to find Kurama sitting casually beside her. "When did you get here?" she asked in surprise.

Mrs. Higurashi seemed just as interested in his answer and tilted her head to the side in a move her daughter unconsciously imitated. "Oh, my."

He chuckled and smiled pleasantly. "Just now, actually. I did not mean to disturb either of you."

"No no!" he was assured. "I was just leaving, and I know that you both have somewhere to be!" She paused slightly and gave her daughter a bland look and gestured to where Kurama was sitting. "Mmm, Kagome? Wasn't there...?"

Kagome nodded and her mouth trembled as she tried to suppress the laughter welling inside her. She clenched her eyes shut to keep them from watering and heard her mother's stifled voice sounding suspiciously high with her own laughter. Kurama politely answered her goodbyes and 

waited for Kagome to turn to him. 

When she finally faced him, she immediately burst out laughing and tugged at his arm to get him to stand. "Come on," she giggled. "We have to hurry if you want to change your pants before meeting with the others..."

"Change my pants?" he questioned and made a move to stand "Why would I—oh," he tried to look uneffected, but the blush on his cheeks gave him away. "Well, that's never happened before..."

Kagome was rolling with laughter by the time Kurama managed to shift his weight enough to inspect the damage. "To you maybe!" she gasped."

Kurama gave her a disgruntled look that only magnified when she suggested that he scrape his ass on the step to remove most of the substance clinging in stringy threads to his pants. Kagome was laughing too hard to retrieve her camera from her pack and had to be satisfied with telling the others when she saw them. She grinned and wiped the tears from her eyes and offered him a hand up. "Let's go before they come looking for us," she snorted and pushed him ahead of her. "I'll cover your rear," she announced and burst into a louder fit of giggles then before. 

Looking affronted and slightly miserable Kurama hurried back to his own home with Kagome's sniggers lending him speed. There was no way that they were going to make it in time to Yusuke's and he knew that everyone would be sure to question him about being late...and Kagome was enjoying this too much not to tell. He sighed, if this was the worst thing to happen during this mission, he would count them all lucky...

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Koenma in teenaged form sent Botan out to open the portal for the tentais and was not surprised to see Inuyasha go with her. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he considered what to tell the group to get them started on this mission. There was really no hints at all about the location of the shard or who may have it. All they had to work with was Kagome's certainty that five hundred years ago, there was a shard lost in the land of the dead...it could be anywhere now...even reincarnated into another soul that may have possessed it last, like she was. If that were the case, the shard could have gone into the ningenkai or even the makai, though he hoped they could avoid going there.

In truth, this time, there were NO certainties. He could only pray that his team was ready for anything, because that is what they were facing...all they had was a five hundred year old rumor and the untrained senses of a teenaged Miko to guide them.

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Well, everyone, thank you for your reviews and your support, and again I apologize for the wait...I have three more chapters that go with this update but I have been very ...discontented... with them as so, will not post them until I rid myself of this troublesome writer's block. Sorry about that. It shouldn't be too awfully long...feel free to contact me and tell me to get my butt in gear if it takes longer than a month to get multiple chapters up! I understand if it gets annoying waiting for an author to update.

Sigh...I hope that this slump doesn't last too long...

Sylvannastar


	57. Dog Eat Dog

Okay, this is a two chapter update with two extensive chapters that I have been sitting on for several months because I didn't like them and they may be rather confusing. But, they are supposed to be that way! So, since I made you guys wait so long, I won't blabber here...on with the story!

Sylvannastar

Dog Eat Dog

The Reikai had proven to be an unimaginative collection of landscapes that resembled the human world in everything but color. The grass was either brighter, or the sky more purple then blue. Flowers bobbed in the breeze with flawless petals turned toward the globe of light that resembled the sun through a filter of pale pink. It was pretty...and boring. The land of the dead merely mimicked the life and energy of the living world.

After the first three days of wandering aimlessly across the pristine land without so much as a solid hint of shikon aura or danger of any kind, the guys were getting edgy.

"Anything yet?" Yusuke prodded the silent girl they had been following without question until now.

Kagome didn't look up from her single-minded introspection and shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "It's there," she finally sighed, "but it's ...not. I think that it may be shielded."

"By what?" Kuwabara pressed. He got a dirty look from Kurama and hushed.

Kagome didn't seem to mind and absently rubbed her thumb across the agitated kitsune's knuckles. "I'm not sure...but it's familiar to me. I just can't place it." She frowned heavily, lines appearing around her mouth and on her forehead. "It's also..fluctuating, I guess. It's moving without actually moving..."

"What the hell?!" Yusuke exclaimed. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"I know that!" she scowled unhappily.

"Oi, Wench," Inuyasha began but rolled his eyes when Kurama growled. "Kagome," he amended and ignored the red-head's dark look. "At least point us in the right direction."

She sighed and clapped a hand over her eyes and took a step away from her living support. Spinning around like a child, she pointed the finger of her other hand away from her body and came to a dizzy halt. Firmly pointing her finger, she glanced back around at the wide eyed hanyou and grinned evilly. "Satisfied?"

"Feh!"

"Hn," Hiei smirked and laughed at the dumbfounded expression on several other faces.

Inuyasha turned up his nose and retreated tot he nearest tree to complete his sulk. Boton followed behind him, trying her best not to let the hanyou realize that she thought he was being silly.

Kagome ignored his temper and crossed her arms over her chest. She could sense the damned thing out there, but its aura was scattered in the wind. It was as if it were part of the very air she was breathing...

She was startled from her thoughts by a rush of Youki to their south that blinked in, then back out of existence. "Eh?" Kagome cocked her head to the side and wrinkled her nose.

"What the hell?" Yusuke stood to attention and squinted his eyes as if it would help his limited human vision pinpoint a youkai on Reikai's empty landscape. "Did you guys pick up on that?"

Kuwabara stuck a finger in the air in warning to the others. "Guys, there shouldn't be any other living demon's here. Koenma would have told us."

"You think?" Yusuke scowled.

Kuwabara ignored his team leader and gazed southward in thought.

"That youki felt familiar," Hiei murmured and narrowed his crimson eyes, unintentionally mimicking Kuwabara's stance.

"Indeed, it should," Kurama answered in a hard voice that they seldom heard from him. The others looked at him expectantly and waited for the fox to continue. "We've only been chasing it for the past few months..."

"That damned dog!" Hiei suddenly spat out, catching on first to Kurama's hint.

"Damn it! He's barrier hopping again!" Yusuke shook a fist at the empty air. "And this time, we can't go after him."

"Maybe we can," Kagome said quietly and stared into space, her eyes slightly unfocused as she concentrated on the demon's energy trail.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, rejoining the group to stand beside his friend. "Kagome, you felt something more?" He was the one most connected to Kagome's habits and recognized the expression on her face.

Kagome just shrugged nonchalantly. "Just a pulse of Shikon energy that matched the appearance and disappearance of that youki."

"What!" Yusuke shouted and tensed as if he were contemplating sprinting after the demon.

"So that's how he did it," Kurama nodded his understanding. "The dog demon has a shikon shard."

"And this time, his trail is fresh," Hiei reminded them.

"That son-of-a-bitch!" Yusuke growled. "Six months of chasing him through the Makia and Ningenkai and he still saunters through the barrier like it's nothing!"

"Technically, we've never chased him. We never got close enough," Kuwabara pointed out.

"There's something more," Kagome stopped them from storming after the demon. "I recognize that energy too, but I can't place it. It is as if it is changed some...but it is familiar."

"Quit talking already, and go!" Inuyasha bounded several feet forward and looked back at them. "Come on," he groused until Kagome took that first hesitant step after him.

"This will be doubly satisfying," Yusuke said and cracked his knuckles. "We'll get that shard and pound that dog into dog chow."

"Eloquent," Kurama commented drily.

Kagome caught up his hand and tugged him along behind her. "Come on, Kurama. You can show me your famous tracking skills!"

_You're tracking skills?! _Youko blinked in astonishment. _Those skills are MINE!!_

_Stop pouting_, Shuuichi rolled his eyes.

_But Kurama's gonna steal MY glory! _Youko whined.

_Our_...Kurama pointed out.

_If she's impressed_, Youko continued, ignoring his host's simple reminder...

_I'll give you credit_, Kurama sighed.

_Good_, Youko finally faded back to observe the group's clumsy start.

When they reached the point where the demon had been for so short a time, they could all feel the residual energy of the demon fading into the world around them. Kagome dropped to her knees and pressed her hands into the grass. "He's strong," she whispered, slightly awed by the continued swirl of youki. "Very strong."

Youko never felt the urge to rip a stranger apart as much as he did in that moment. _Not as strong as we are, _he muttered.

"Hey," Botan stopped and pulled everyone else to a halt with her. "What...what if it is Inuyasha?"

"WHAT!?" several voices yelled at once, including the hanyou himself.

Botan quickly held her hands up in gesture meant to calm them. "Wait! Just think about it. A familiar energy...a dog demon...a connection to the jewel of four souls...someone Kagome recognizes...is it really just a coincidence?"

"I'll be damned," Yusuke said, seriously considering her words.

"Wench," Inuyasha blushed, "I'm right here."

"Your past self is right here," Kagome shook her head. "But your future self..."

"Feh..." But Inuyasha himself began to consider the possibility.

"Baka," Hiei finally announced. "You said 'powerful'" he reminded Kagome and gave the hanyou a scathing look.

"You fucking runt!" Inuyasha jumped up, hand gripping Tetsusaiga.

"Cut it out, both of you!" Kagome frowned. "We don't have time to play up to your pride, Inuyasha. Or your need to prove yourself, Hiei," she said catching the fire apparitions smirk before she squashed it. "If we're gonna follow him, we need to do it now. He's already got a head start."

Botan materialized her oar and scooted forward to accommodate Inuyasha and his swelling temper. She bit her lip to hide her smile. She knew that it was inappropriate, but she couldn't help but find the grumpy hanyou cute when he was angry. She felt him spring aboard and make himself comfortable against her back before she lifted further off the ground.

"How do we do this?" Kuwabara hesitated. "We don't know which place he went."

"Well," Yusuke agreed, "We usually find the best traces of him in the Makai. His trail is too easy to hide among the masses in the human world."

"Then the demon realm it is," Botan nodded and opened a portal. 

Kagome felt the tingle of the shikon for just a moment and paused. Kurama stopped with her and tucked her hand into his. "Kagome?" he questioned her.

"Hmm?" she asked without paying much attention to anything but her miko senses.

He tugged on their joined fingers gently and gestured toward the portal. Casting one last glance over her shoulder at the vast reaches of Reikai, Kagome allowed herself to be pulled into the emptiness of the portal. She cringed only slightly as the world flashed away and was replaced with the very beautiful and equally deadly landscape of the Makia.

The rest of the group was already diligently staring at the ground and peering at every detail they couldn't hope to read correctly anyway. Kurama sighed and decided that he better speak now before the clueless group trampled what little trace was probably left of the dog's trail. "Don't move Inuyasha," he said to the hanyou who was closest to the faint impressions left by the other dog.

Not thinking, Inuyasha paused where he was crouched on all fours with his nose in the dirt. He twisted his ears in the fox's direction and Feh-ed softly though he did not move.

Kurama moved to stand beside him and pointed one foot about two feet from the dog's sensitive nose. "There," he said, "traveling west..."

"Wow," Kagome patted his hand, "That was fast."

_Hear that? She was impressed, _Youko announced. _Tell her._

Kurama sighed and shrugged. "You can thank Youko..."

She reached up on her toes and placed a sweet kiss on his lips and whispered "Thank you," before pulling away and dropping down to where Inuyasha was avidly sniffing the Makai dust. She watched her best friend with practiced patience that stemmed from her long travels with him. She was used to Inuyasha's methods of searching and was more then confidant in his ability to follow the trail. Kurama had hinted around about the "skills" that Youko possessed and now shared with his human host and their mingled self, but had never gone right out and said where Youko learned them. In truth, she wasn't sure that she wanted to know. "Find anything?" she asked and dropped her chin into the palm of one hand as she watched him work.

Kurama was still standing perfectly still where she left him with his eyes slightly glazed over. He blinked, his mind strangely silent until Youko blurted out angrily, _Hey! That was MY kiss! _Kurama let out a slight smirk twist his lips upward before he banished the fox to the back of his mind so that he could focus on the hunt. It was sure to prove a long one...

They had barely stepped into the lush forests around them when a multitude of low class demons started to be drawn to the portal they had opened. Hiei didn't even bother to draw his sword when he informed them that there were many of the witless creatures headed their way. Kagome actually squealed in joy and fumbled for her own blade.

"Great! Now you can see what I have learned," she informed the sniggering Hanyou. "You'll see, Inuyasha. I am stronger then you remember."

Botan slid over to Kurama and whispered to him, "Is she any good?"

Kurama grimaced and wondered how to answer that. "She's better then she was," he admitted.

"So that translates as 'Stand Back," right?" She giggled.

"Hn." Hiei interrupted them. "She's not that bad. She has only had a few weeks of training. With time..."

"Which she doesn't have," Inuyasha stopped laughing and joined them in their conversation about Kagome's skills. "I'll have to jump in and save her ass again," he sighed.

"She is strong enough to take out this bunch," Hiei defended his student. "Naraku is another matter."

Inuyasha quit teasing and grew serious at the mention of that name. "She should never even have to face him. If I am strong enough..."

"We." Kurama crossed his arms and stared the hanyou down. "WE. Kagome is no longer your worry. I will protect what is mine."

"She's still my friend, fox." Inuyasha pointed out, not getting mad at the possessive tone in the kitsune's voice.

"And mine," Botan agreed.

"Hn." Hiei agreed and rolled his eyes. The demon hoard was almost there. He sprang into a tree to get a better view in which to shout orders to his headstrong pupil. Kagome was swinging her sword experimentally at some tall weeds and was grinning ear to ear as their tops parted from the stalks with ease. Hiei blinked and sighed.

Kagome sensed the lesser demons closing in on her location and suddenly her shoulders fell. "Um," she began and turned liquid eyes at her friends. "What if they are friendly?" she asked.

Three of the males snorted and Kuwabara stared sadly at her. She frowned unhappily at them and stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

"She shouldn't have to kill," the big orange haired human finally said and confronted the others. "Women shouldn't fight."

"You and that honor code again," Yusuke kicked the other boy in the shin playfully.

"Urameshi," Kuwabara snarled and hopped on one foot as he rubbed at the forming bruise. "You can be so dense!" He ignored the sniggers that followed that statement and pursed his lips before he continued. "It isn't that she can't, damn it! It is that she shouldn't have to! Don't you remember what it felt like to _kill_ for the first time? Don't you? You really want that for her if you can help it?"

Kagome stared wide eyed at the tall boy trying to protect her from facing death. Sighing loudly, she tapped him on the shoulder and got his attention from where all the men were staring in disbelief at him. "Kuwabara, it is okay. I have killed before. Just not hand to hand like this."

"Still," he sighed. " I would rather you not have to do this."

"That is so sweet," she smiled. "Yukina must be really lucky to have met a man so ready to defend her, not matter what." He blushed easily as Yukina was mentioned. Hiei bit back the automatic growl that came unbidden to his lips and resined himself to the relationship that he would soon be forced to share with the baka. He would have to be more forgiving if he wanted Yukina to be happy.

"You know," Inuyasha crossed his arms, "as touching as all this concern is, the demons are here."

Kagome frowned darkly at the hanyou and pointed the sword at him. "I know that! I can sense them, if you remember."

"Did you remember that YOU are supposed to be fighting these...things?" he waved his hand at the shadows slinking around them as if to surround the group. "Aren't you going to dazzle us with your extraordinary powers?" 

"Oh yeah," she answered brightly and spun on her heal and stalked to the perimeter of the defensive group behind her. "Alright," she responded cheerily. "I'm ready! Bring it on!"

Hiei sighed and twisted his lips in a wry grin that showed both his exasperation and his pride in his student and friend. Kurama was fingering a red rose just in case he felt that he needed to jump in and Inuyasha had a hand ready on the hilt of his father's fang.

Just as the first lesser demon charged at Kagome, Yusuke and Hiei had to hold back the dog and fox from stepping in when it was not yet necessary. Kagome easily dodged every attempt the creature made to force her back toward its comrades. It was a scaled creature with a delicate face and impossibly bright blue eyes. Kagome appreciated the textured rainbow that glowed across the demon's skin as it swayed in front of her. She snapped her sword at the creature's long whip like tail as it appeared in front of her. It lashed around her, left then right. Driving her to dodge in a certain direction. It paused to hiss at the people standing at her back occasionally, but Kagome simply blocked the tail from touching her.

So far, the snakish-catish thing had not even challenged her to actual combat. It seemed intent only on driving her toward the others that it had arrived with. The lesser demons completely ignored Kagome's companions and snarled at her from the shadows and taunted her with whistles and chirps of invitation to join them.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed. "This isn't even a fight!"

"Hn." Hiei agreed. "Just take them out and let us get on with our mission."

"Hmm," she frowned and tapped her fingers unhappily on the carved hilt of her new sword. Gracefully dancing around the other demon's attempts at herding her, she smirked and accepted Hiei at his word. "Okay!" and she said and leapt into the midst of the demons that she had so easily avoided till now.

"KAGOME!" Kurama gaped and started to dash after the giggling girl. The others echoed her name in various levels of disbelief and were shocked to see her pause to wave at them before disappearing in the brush.

_HAS SHE LOST HER MIND!? _Youko screamed and set Kurama's head ringing. 

Hiei choked on his "hn" and almost fell from his perch in the tree.

A few large roars, several screams and one huge blinding flash of pink later, Kagome pranced out from the tree line and flicked the odd colored goo off the blade of her katana. "Done!" she announced and smiled happily until she registered the angry expressions on her friend's faces. "What?"

Inuyasha sank to his knees and pressed his pale face into the palms of his hands. "Kami..."

Kurama felt the same but rushed to her side and grasped her arms in his strong grip. "Don't you ever so that again!" he yelled and shook her urgently. "You could have been killed!"

"By them?!" she shook him off. "You guys didn't think that I could take out THAT pack? Gee, thanks for your support," she grimaced and sheathed the blade at her hip. "I didn't even need my sword if I didn't want to use it, so you guys can just relax."

"Hn." Hiei let her see his crimson eyes glittering down on her from above.

"Well you told me to just get rid of them," she grumbled under her breath.

Botan finally let go of the grip she had on Yusuke's shirt and pushed herself toward the now silently steaming girl. "Kagome," she began, "What did you do? There are no souls..."

Kagome blinked at death and them smiled widely. "I just waited until they were all about twenty feet from me and I purified them from existence in one big swish," she said and unsheathed the blade to demonstrate. As she gripped the hilt, she focused her miko energies into the forged metal until small pink sparks and bolts of power danced across it's length. "It makes a great conductor," she explained and returned the sword to her hip.

"But you could have been," Botan shivered and searched Kagome's eyes with her own candy pick gaze.

"Not by creatures as weak as that," she said going back to frowning as crossed her arms defensively. "You think you would have more faith in me, if not in your ability as teachers."

Koenma turned his now worn swivel chair to face the wide screen taking up one wall. He winced at the aggravated shriek it made before steepling his fingers and pulling up the image of his detectives on their search. It had been four days now, since Botan checked in to say they were trailing that one escaped demon dog through the Makia, Ningenkai, and back again. They had not caught up to the demon yet, and had even been shaken from the trail twice now, but Kurama had managed to second guess the dog both times and managed to pick the trail back up after a little barrier hopping of their own, courtesy of Botan.

The empty screen blinked to life with a low hum and the Makai landscape shot past as the sensors honed in on the familiar figures. When the dizzying movement finally halted, Koenma almost swallowed his pacifier. His eyes filled with horror as he gripped the edge of his desk and leaned forward. "They-They're-" he stuttered before throwing his chubby fists in the air and shouting, "THEY'RE SLEEPING!?!?!"

Hiei had kept watch that night and was not surprised to see Kagome be the first one stirring. The human girl was accustomed to being the first awake and providing for her own group when she traveled with the hanyou. She had automatically fallen into the same rhythm here too. Not that anyone was complaining. One meal of Yusuke or Inuyasha's and everyone was more then happy to allow Kagome to take over those particular duties.

Hiei watched her yawn and stretch before rolling up that ridiculous sleeping bag and stuffing it into the even more ridiculous pack she insisted on hauling around. "Hn," he greeted her and jumped down from his perch in the rocks above.

"Morning, Hiei," she yawned again and ran a hand over the slightly skewed spikes of hair on his head.

He ducked her attentions and gave her own tangled locks a pointed look. "Take care of your own problems," he grunted.

Kagome felt her lips twitch but said seriously, " You know that you like it when I mother you," she teased and reached for him again.

"Woman!" he protested but didn't move or argue since both knew she was right. He did enjoy the attention. Kagome was one of the three people that he knew that he would ever let approach him much less touch him.

"I wonder if I could get it to lay down?" she wondered aloud as she spiked the ends back up with her finger tips. It took very little effort to convince his hair to cooperate since it was naturally spiked that way.

He glared at her from the corner of one eye and set his lips in a hard line. "Don't you dare," he said.

"Just curious," she shrugged and finished her pampering. She had abandoned his hair in favor of digging through her massive pack for what sounded like "breakfast" but he couldn't be sure what she mumbled with her head buried in the bag.

She finally got her fingers around the mesh sack she had been searching for and yanked hard until she freed her catch from the other objects in there. "Got it!" she announced cheerfully and revealed a mixed bag of apples and oranges in her hands.

Hiei shook his head but couldn't help but wonder what else was in there. The dirty yellow pack had proven to be a deceptive contraption, revealing a unique ability to provide anything and everything they could possibly need. He watched her pry open the bag and snag an orange before setting it in plain sight for when the others awoke.

Sitting once again beside Hiei, she sighed and stared into the distance. "We've lost him again, haven't we?"

Hiei snorted what she assumed was a yes. She started flicking the peel of her fruit at Yusuke and smirked every time he twitched in his sleep.

Kurama woke as soon as Kagome had started stirring, but had chosen to bury himself under his blankets for a few moments extra peace before joining her. He finally stretched and climbed silently to his feet and joined the other two seated across from the remnants of the fire. He grabbed another orange and united with Kagome in the silent battle of burying Yusuke in orange peels. As soon as he ran out of peel, he admitted that he had over heard Kagome's last question. "He's gone," he agreed.

"Hn," Hiei nodded.

Kagome patted Kurama's cheek with a sticky hand and whispered, "It's okay. He has resources that we don't. We'll find him again."

Kurama wiped the remnants of her breakfast off his face with a casual movement of his shoulder and caught the slight twitch of her lips. "You did that on purpose," he accused.

She full out grinned and scooted away from him. Kurama in the morning was dangerous.

He mock growled and pounced on her before she could hide behind the impassive Jagonashi watching them. Her howling laughter soon had the rest of the camp moaning unhappily or cursing loudly as the case went with Yusuke, and stumbling out of their blankets to greet the day. The fruit quickly disappeared without anyone bothering to question where it came from and soon, the group was back in order and prepared to leave again.

"So," Kuwabara said," which way did he go?"

Kagome winced and watched the clouds burn off the morning sky. "Don't know," she sighed. "He's gone again."

Yusuke and Inuyasha growled unhappily before the tentai leader placed his hands on his hips and faced the others. "So now we go back to Ningenkai to pick up the trail again?"

Kurama slowly shook his head and said clearly, "He's gone, Yusuke. The trail is gone."

"Shit."

"Kagome, can't you feel the direction of the shard?" Botan pursued the topic cautiously. 

Kagome clenched her hands into fists and bit her lip nervously. "Well actually, no. I keep catching hints of it, the strongest when he opens the portals, but nothing solid. I am beginning to wonder if he has it at all." 

"When is the last time you had a solid trace of it?" Inuyasha prodded.

"When we first felt him in the Rekai. After that, it got fainter and fainter until all I have felt lately is the barest residue of Shikon energy." she admitted reluctantly.

The others slumped unhappily where they stood as the realized the whole past week was wasted.

They were back to the beginning with no shard, no suspect, and no leads.

"So, where to now?" Botan asked her.

"Back to Rekai, of course," Hiei snorted.

"I agree," Kurama said and pushed his crimson hair from his eyes. "It is where we had the strongest signature for the jewel and where the Dog first showed up. It is only logical to trace our steps back to where we began and search anew."

"Keh," Inuyasha rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around Botan's waist so that he could rest on her shoulder. "What ever we do, we need to do soon. That jewel shard will only cause trouble."

Kagome nodded and gathered her things quicky so that they could leave. Botan opened a portal and ushered them inside. Kagome flinched again and stared hard at the doorway. "There it was again," she murmured.

"What?" Kurama asked her before guiding her into the empty space floating a foot off the ground.

"The jewel..." she announced tiredly. "It has an echo..."

Kurama gave her a confused look and directed her into the Rekai where the others waited. "Echo?" he asked for clarification.

Kagome only sighed and focused her powers on the new landscape until she had a feel for the normal energies around her. Any abnormalities would register on her senses so that she could easily check for the jewel shard. Twisting around, she extended her supernatural sight to search for the signature energy of the jewel and felt the lightest of pulling sensations in her gut when she faced north. "That way," she pointed and began the first long hike of the day.

It wasn't an hour later then the two human boys started whining again.

"Stop complaining. I know that we are close. I can feel it." Kagome said trying to sooth Yusuke's flaring temper and Kuwabara's endless stream of stupid questions.

"That's what you said before," Yusuke pointed out rudely.

"Kagome can track it. Give her time..." Kurama defended the exhausted girl and wrapped an arm over his love's shoulders.

"But how much? We've been wandering around Reikai forever now."

"I can make it forever if you don't shut up," Hiei hissed from in front of the others.

"Just a bit longer...I can sense the Shikon's energy from here. " Kagome coaxed and gained a few minutes of peace for the group.

They obediently followed Kagome till they topped a natural rise in the land. Looking down into the palely lit valley below, they found a single tree rising from the earth in a grand tangle of heavy limbs...and seated below it a familiar figure rested.

"Oh, gods," Kagome breathed. She kept her eyes focused on the sole creature, as if afraid a blink would cause the apparition to disappear. "...Kikyo."

How many of you were expecting that? Lol! Well, sorry that I took so long again. Finals and all...I won't be updating for a while again anyway. I have a family trip to go on...18 hours in the car with a three year old that squirms at 2 hours...fun! When I get back, I'll be sure to update again. Thanks! 

Sylvannastar


	58. The Land of the Dead

Okay, this is the second chapter in this group...so, enjoy! .

The Land of the Dead

8888888888888888888

"Kikyo?!" Inuyasha's eyes grew wide as his body refused to hold him up. Sinking down on his haunches in a boneless motion, he studies the ground directly in front of him without looking up.

He swallowed past the painful lump lodged in his throat and relived his last encounter with his lost love. "...Kikyo," he murmured her name much as Kagome had done moments before.

Boton bit her lip and forced her eyes wide in an effort to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. She had watched Inuyasha suffer over this woman before and it had not become any easier for her to dismiss his obvious pain.

"I thought you had gotten rid of that zombie," Youko spoke harshly through Kurama's taught mouth. He retreated at Kagome's sharp look but spared the time to growl angrily at the figure below them before giving control back over to the red head.

Inuyasha winced at the term and lay his ears back, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Before he could defend her, Boton spoke up.

"We did. This is the land of the dead, after all. She has every right to be here..." Her quiet conviction and ready acceptance relaxed Inuyasha enough that he could look up at her apologetically. The worry in his eyes was also slightly lifted by her small return smile.

"Shouldn't she have moved on? Reincarnated or something, by now?" Yusuke asked the ferry girl while scratching halfheartedly at the scab covering his arm.

"She did," Boton pointed out and gestured toward Kagome who was gazing sadly at the lonely figure sitting still and silent below the giant tree.

Yusuke blinked and frowned at the spirit guide. "That doesn't make sense. How can she be here and be there at the same time? If she reincarnated, she must be...but if she's there, she's..." he looked from Kagome to Kikyo and back again several times before sighing loudly. "Explain." he demanded and turned to face the bemused deity of death.

Boton shrugged and squinted at the figure. "I can't," she admitted and met the speculative eyes of several edgy males. "I'm not sure what is going on."

"Whatever it is," Hiei interrupted them, "She has the Shikon Shard and we require it."

Kurama lifted a comforting hand to Kagome's tense shoulder and brushed his fingers over the pulse point at her neck in reassurance. "I agree," he said softly. "We need that shard to complete this mission..."

Kagome took a few steps forward and wrapped her arms around her middle. Finally able to speak she stunned them into silence, "She seems so sad and alone," Kagome said and the look of compassion on her face made them turn to look at the woman again.

Strangely enough, Inuyasha was the one to protest against the obvious disregard for the past harm the other miko had done. "But Kagome," he sputtered and met her eyes, "what she did to you...How could you?"

"What?" Kagome smiled softly. "Forgive her? How could I not? She IS me." Kagome took a deep breath and tilted her head to the side to contemplate the unmoving woman.

"Is she, though?" Yusuke butted back in. "If she is, then how are you both here?"

Kagome deliberately broadened her smile so that everyone could see that she was prepared to meet with her incarnate on friendly terms and urged them to follow her lead. "I am not sure, but there is a way to find out...let's ask her." Kagome jauntily took those first steps down the slope and Kurama shook off his pride and disbelief to walk by her side.

The others exchanged worried glances and followed nearly on her heals.

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Koenma watched with puzzled eyes as his prize team of detectives approached a lonely figure dressed in red and white. "Ogre!" he yelled unhappily. "Haven't you fixed the sound yet?! I can't hear a damned thing! What the hell is going on out there?!"

Two red oni's in grey employee hats frantically attempted to bring sound to the screen in Koenma's office. One rapidly yanked at the color coded cords in the control panel found in the wall while the other whispered hurried instructions from the massive manual in his hands .

"Cut the red one and rewire it here..."

SNICK

The screen turned to snow and Koenma jumped up on his desk waving his pudgy fists in the air. He was yelling obscenities that never should have been said in front of a toddler and this only served to send the two ogres into a frenzy of wire snipping and frantic reworking of the tangled mass into a semblance of order.

"The blue one! The blue one!"

SNICK

"No the other blue one!"

SNICK

"Now tie these here to...to...hmmm we should have cut the yellow one."

SNICK

"Where's the green wire?"

SNICK

"I DIDN'T SAY CUT IT!"

Koenma dropped his head in his hands and felt the urge to sob. What else could happen?

"So, now if we have the orange and the pink..."

SNICK

SNICK

"Will you stop doing that! Here, cut the weird brownish goldish wire...

"..."

"Well?"

SNICK

Koenma didn't even look up as the power in the entire room cut off. He needed to seriously find out who hired the staff and fire them...

"Uh, Koenma-sama?" the talkative red ogre asked softly. "Do you have a flashlight?"

"Are you guys sure you're maintenance?" he asked tiredly without looking up.

"Maintenance? Us? No, we work in the manifestation department. We catalog new souls." the ogre answered proudly.

"Then WHY are you HERE?!" he whimpered since he couldn't seem to find the energy to yell.

The ogre answered somewhat hesitantly..."Ah well sir....you dragged us in here as we were passing by, remember?"

Koenma banged his head on the table three times before he pitched his pacifier at the dark wall and it's two saboteurs. With a wet thunk, the spirit infused teether met the solid wall and sparked some of it's energy into the surface. 

"Hehehe We'll just get George for you..." he said and hauled his companion out the door in a hurry to escape the tiny rulers crazed gaze.

"Oh, poopie, " he finally sighed and reverted back into the language of a child. "Now I'll never know what that other Miko is still doing here..." he frowned. "And why didn't I know about it?"

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As Inuyasha got closer to Kikyo, he was disturbed to see the same empty expression in her eyes that she had while "living" soulless in the feudal ages. Those hollow brown orbs were not even glancing at him, but were set firmly on Kagome. Shaking off the bad feeling that he was getting from the previously un-dead miko, he inched closer and tried to draw her stare from her incarnate. "Kikyo," he urged her to look at him and both waited for and dreaded her gaze to fall on him. He was rewarded with the slightest turning of her head and the intensity of her void eyes focusing on him. 

"Inuyasha." she greeted him back and the slightest turning of her lips into a smile sent shivers down several spines. "It seems I did not have to drag you down to hell after all. You have found your own way here..."

" Lady Kikyo!" Botan exclaimed and pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips. "I-uh..." Botan struggled for something to say...anything to say... "Um..this isn't hell..."

"Isn't it?" the priestess sighed and the others caught a glimpse of the sadness and loneliness that Kagome could sense right off, and then it was gone again. "Perhaps you are right..."

"Kikyo?" Kagome murmured politely. "Why are you here?"

Kikyo gazed at her reincarnate for a long time before she answered mockingly. "You would know that better then I."

Several of the team members exchanged suspicious glances and slowly moved to circle the calm miko in case she did indeed pose a threat to their Kagome. Kagome ruined their intentions by dropping to her knees directly in front of the other girl and leaning forward. "I don't understand," she admitted to the other version of herself. "What do you mean?"

Kikyo ignored the question to wave vaguely at the landscape. "Please sit," she offered to the others who refused the invitation with various levels of impoliteness. She turned back to Kagome and asked a question of her own without attempting to explain her previous words. "Why are you here? You are neither dead nor a deity. Since when do the living walk the land of the dead?"

"Since when did the dead begin to walk in the land of the living?" Hiei countered from above them in the tree.

"It is not the same thing," Kikyo replied.

"I do not see the difference," Yusuke frowned darkly at the girl that looked so much like his friend.

"Yusuke," Kagome warned quietly. "Kikyo was not given the choice back them. Do not place all the blame on her shoulders."

Kikyo gazed impassively at the Tentai's and their newest members and then narrowed her eyes when they landed on Kurama who was growling low in his throat. "You hold great anger towards me," she said. "Why? Do I know you?"

Kurama snarled angrily and took several threatening steps forward before Kagome's strong arms circled around his legs. "Must you ask?" he demanded harshly but stood still under his lover's touch. "That soul you stole does not belong to you," he spat. "You will return it."

"Who are you to talk?" The miko frowned and swept her gaze over the kitsune's tense form. "You, who are two souls in one body?"

"Please stop," Kagome sighed and shook her head. "This is unimportant."

"Unimportant?!" Kurama spoke again. "Kagome, she still carries a piece of your soul!" The fox pronounced. "Do you not want it back?!"

Kagome hesitated and met Kikyo's chocolate brown eyes with her own bemused grey blue eyes. She searched Kikyo's face as if the answer lay there and bit her lip. When she could find no answer, she pleaded silently with her incarnate to find the core of this dilemma and explain it to her.

Botan spoke up before Kagome was able to find the words to express her confusion. "Kikyo, why are you still here? Why haven't you moved on and allowed Kagome to take back the remaining soul that you share?"

Kikyo addressed her answer directly to the other priestess. "Do you wish for it back, Kagome? When you lost that part of yourself, you felt different, did you not?" she asked her reincarnate. Kagome nodded and waited patiently for the other Miko to continue. "So did I," she admitted and looked down at the ground. "It changed both of us, in a small but significant way. I could not give it back to you without losing who I am, any more then you could receive it without it changing you as well. Do you wish to change?" she asked the younger girl.

Kagome thought hard about that and then shook her head in a silent denial. "I like who I am..."

Kikyo nodded as if she had expected this response. "I thought that might be your answer. It would not have been my place to make that decision for you, though Reikai left me many more options then I expected. I can not reincarnate again, as I have not a complete soul. It will be the same for you when you pass into this realm" she said as she stared into Kagome's bemused blue eyes. "Your soul is no longer complete either. Until we are able to fuse the pieces back together, we will be forced to wait..."

"So that is why you have not moved on, Kikyo-sama?" Boton asked politely.

"Partly. It is...more complicated then that." She admitted reluctantly.

"How so?" Youko asked, not yet softening toward the woman that had brought so much grief to his mate in the past. He felt his hair starting to silver at the ends and the prominent triangular ears appeared on top of his head. Kagome nudged him none too gently with the point of her elbow.

Kikyo watched him with equal intensity and twisted her mouth at the corners in a little used smile. "I am not entirely certain," she said seriously. "But I have a few suspicions...now that Kagome is here, I had hoped that she could tell me." That intense gaze switched over to Kagome's perplexed one. "Tell me," she leaned slightly forward to face her reincarnate, "You have traveled between times?"

Kagome wrinkled her brow but answered steadily. "Yes, five hundred years..."

"And you have traveled between worlds?"

Youko rolled his eyes and stared at the empty landscape of the Reikai.

"Yes." Kagome answered simply, knowing that Kikyo was directing her to some enlightenment.

"How did it feel each time?"

"Feel?" Kagome leaned into the solid form of Kurama at her back in her surprise. She lowered her head until her bangs shielded her face from view. "Well, Time travel was weird at first...but later it was kinda familiar. I guess I got used to the magic of the well..." she reached behind her with questing finger tips to find Kurama's hand while she absently tried to remember the sensation of traveling through the portals to each world. "The other...well, it was also familiar to me. The energy..." she paused to gather her scattered thoughts.

"Familiar..." Kikyo repeated, thinking as well. She sighed and met the other girl's eyes. "There is more, isn't there?"

Kagome blushed and bit her lip before shooting a worried look at Kurama who was watching them carefully. "Uh, yeah..."

Kurama raised a brow at Kagome's admission and silently urged her to finish her thought.

"It kinda hurt...to pass through."

What ever they had been expecting, that was not it. Kurama drew in a rapid breath and turned his mate to be to face him in concern. They had been portal hopping frequently while chasing the dog demon this past week. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded and ran his hands over her body to assure himself of her continued good heath.

She blushed and shoved the red head with the silver streaked hair off of her, but not before she spotted the ears perked in her direction from the top on his head. Automatically reaching up to rub one, she grumbled, " because I thought it was normal...no one said anything about what the portal felt like and I didn't really think about it till now. It wasn't overly painful, Kurama...more like a tug or a push..."

Youko turned vivid golden eyes on the other miko and growled. "Why?" he demanded.

Kikyo regarded him silently for several long seconds before responding. "Again, I can only guess."

Narrowing his eyes in response to her evasive answer, he took a menacing step toward her. Kagome held him back and scolded the fox in the ear he kept turned her way. "Leave it be," she whispered. "It wasn't that bad. And Kikyo wouldn't ask if she already knew the answers."

"Hn," Hiei finally said in response to the scene. "She speaks the truth."

Kikyo raised her brow and met the crimson red gaze of the hybrid demon. He stared back, neither giving any ground to the other until Kagome returned their attention to the conversation.

"Kikyo, how is it we are both here? How can we both exist here like this?" she asked and tipped her head to the side.

Kikyo actually smiled a genuine smile that lit up her face in the same way that Kagome was able to. Her smile was flashed more at the ground than at any particular person and she sat straighter against the tree at her back. "That should be rather obvious," she said. "Time."

"Time?" Kagome rubbed her hands over her eyes as she thought that over. "But..."

"There are no certainties." Kikyo pointed out. "Especially not with something as fragile as Time. There is nothing that is impossible."

Kagome bent her knees and rested her chin on them in an effort to get more comfortable while she tried to sort out this mess. "You died." She waited for the other woman to humor her and nod before continuing. "I went back in time. You were brought back as a shell of your former life." Again the confirming nod. "We both existed then in the same time because neither of us belonged there...You moved on, taking a small piece of my soul into the Rekai with you...five hundred years ago." Kikyo nodded again. "This is where I get confused." Kagome admitted. "When you died and were reincarnated, I had a whole soul. When it was divided, you brought a piece back with you here. So, for five hundred years, you have been sitting here like that?" Kikyo answered a simple yes. "And when I was born, I was born with a whole soul even though you were already sitting here with the piece of it taken from me?"

"Correct." Kikyo agreed.

"So that means that there was a small piece of our soul that , for fifteen years, was either in two different places at once, or that had doubled and there were two identical pieces in the same time line..."

"Correct again," Kikyo nodded.

"But how is that possible?" Botan pressed. "How is it possible for something to exist like that?"

"Time," Kagome finally sighed, understanding slightly what Kikyo meant. "Changing time and traveling through time creates the past and the future to collide in the present. It creates multiples of the things that time can not truly change...like souls."

"What do you mean when you say that souls don't change?" Yusuke frowned. "Isn't there some differences from you and Kikyo?"

"Between us, yes. Between our soul itself, no. A soul can be created, or destroyed, but not changed by something like time. Time is a passive force..."

A passive force?" Kuwabara frowned. "Growing old and dying doesn't seem all that passive..."

"That happens to your body, not your soul. Time is not concerned one way or another what affects it has on you."

"So what is a soul, then?" he asked.

Everyone turned to Botan who blushed unhappily under their demanding gaze. "Uh," she began. "No one really knows."

"What?!" Yusuke demanded. "You mean that you are the deity of death and ferry souls between the living worlds and the land of the dead and you can't even identify what you are carrying? And Koenma?! He governs the spirit world with out having a clue what he is governing?!"

Botan nodded and stared at the back of her hands miserably. "Souls just are. We don't bother trying to explain them. When new ones appear, there is no source or explanations. They have always been and endure through all natural events until an outside force destroys them. Or they fade away..."

"Like what?" Hiei asked suspiciously.

"Purification," Botan waved a hand at the two mikos as an example. "Magic...external forces that come from divine powers..."

"And fading away?" Yusuke frowned.

"Just like when a new soul appears, some simple fade out of existence for no particular reason." She shrugged apologetically. "I don't know any thing else to tell you..."

Kagome suddenly shot to her feet, gaining everyone's undivided attention. "The jewel shard!" she exclaimed.

"You can feel the jewel?" Inuyasha cheered. "Where?"

"No, no," she shook her head violently. "I thought that we were safe from Naraku finishing the jewel if there was still a shard in the future. But the Shikon is made from souls! Don't you see?!" She demanded. "The jewel is not affected by time either. It would always exist as well and if forced to move through time, it could also duplicate itself!"

"You mean there are TWO jewels?!" Inuyasha asked horrified.

"Maybe," Kagome swallowed.

"I don't get it," Inuyasha hissed. "Explain!"

"There is the original jewel that was "destroyed" when Kikyo died the first time." Kurama explained trying to clarify the issue. "It was not actually destroyed, but moved. It manifested itself into Kagome when she was born."

"That is the same Shikon? Only one Jewel?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Listen," Kurama sighed. "That Shikon also existed in some form in that time between Kikyo and Kagome."

"But it is just the one jewel, right?" Inuyasha persisted.

"Shut up!" Hiei hissed at the hanyou.

"So far," Kurama agreed. "BUT, when Kagome went back in time with the jewel, it duplicated itself. There was the jewel that was in limbo between the lives of Kagome and Kikyo and the Jewel that the future Kagome takes to the past."

"It gets more complicated then that," Kikyo spoke up again.

"How could it possibly get more complicated?" Yusuke sighed. "And how would you know?"

"I have had five hundred years to think this over," she pointed out. "IF you succeed and finish the jewel in the past, there is a whole Shikon that will exist in two places at once. If Kagome leaves the jewel in the past with you, there will be two jewels that exist until the point in time that Kagome leaves with it to the past for the first time. But if the jewel has already duplicated itself, where is the other jewel? It would not be destroyed..."

"So what will happen to it?" Inuyasha asked.

"I don't know. Like the piece of soul that I carry, when Kagome lost it back in time, there became only one here in the present when she returned. I have no idea where the duplicate piece went...but it was not destroyed."

"This is too confusing," Yusuke sighed. "Just give us the Jewel shard you have and we will worry about all the other stuff later."

"Oh yeah," Kuwabara scratched his head. "I forgot that was why we came over here." 

"I do not have a jewel shard," Kikyo frowned slightly at them and met Kagome's eyes. 

"Oh come on!" Yusuke shouted. "Kagome said she felt it here," he announced and looked at the priestess's calm demeanor.

"That is the residue of the Shikon from the past. It has marked me," she closed her eyes and explained. "It has marked several others in the same way. I have felt them."

"Residual energy?" Kagome sighed. "So how am I too find the actual shard?"

Kikyo smiled. "Maybe you already have. Your future self may have found it in the past...Meaning that it does not exist here in the present anymore..."

"My head hurts," Yusuke whimpered and clutched at his hair.

"I still don't understand," Kagome sighed. "How am I supposed to search for something that may or may not actually exist...or may exist on several different levels at once?"

"You don't," Kurama sighed. "The miko is right. There are no certainties at all. None..."

"I don't like this," Kagome confessed. "I don't like feeling like there is no order to the world...and what if the shard is here in this time and I have to take it back to the past? How do I separate the feeling of residual Shikon energy attached to the people that were effected by the jewel, the Limbo Shikon energy of the original jewel, the Restored Shikon Energy from the jewel that we will complete in the past, and the physical shard we are searching for now?"

"You don't," Kikyo sighed. "Tell me, where have you felt the jewel's call since you started this search?"

"I felt it when we got here to the Rekai. Then I felt it with the dog demon we were following. Again on you, and every time a portal was opened..." she said.

"And when was it strongest?" Kikyo asked with a thoughtful frown marring her brow.

"When we first came here, it was strong, but it was fluctuating like it was behind a barrier..." Kagome explained.

"A barrier?" Kikyo sounded surprised as she stared into the distance... "That would explain..."

"Explain what?" Kagome asked hesitantly, as if she were afraid of the answer.

"Do you wonder why I was not surprised to see you?" Kikyo asked instead. At Kagome's wide eyed look, Kikyo continued. "I have seen you before. Your future self came and paid me a visit a long time ago...As a matter of fact, all the things that I have told you, were the things that you told me, long ago."

Kagome abruptly sat back down while the others took deep calming breathes to keep their wits about them. "I did?"

"Indeed."

"So you told her what she told you what you told her what she told you?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kagome rubbed the heals of her hands into her eyes hard.

"Because you told me to." Kikyo smirked.

"Did I?" Kagome sighed. "Why would I do that?"

"Simply because that is what you remember you heard."

Inuyasha smacked his head on the solitary tree several times to try to clear it. "Fucking shit!" he exclaimed. "This is getting us no where."

"Perhaps,"Kikyo actually laughed. "Then again...your future self came to tell me something more then about the conversation we just had. Which, by the way, she was very confused about even then. She also told me why she was wondering through here. She had just created a barrier spell to contain a hanyou...a barrier that was created to both keep something in and other things out... She said that it was something from her past that wasn't meant to be discovered until the right time...something like a jewel shard, perhaps?"

Kagome gasped, "But why would my future self allow a jewel shard to go uncollected?!"

"Because your future self had already completed the jewel!" Kurama smiled finally understanding the point. "She had to leave it for your past self to find!"

Kikyo smiled sadly.

"But...if my future self was here, " Kagome bit her lip, "Then that means that I die..."

The silence surrounded them as they let that thought sink in. Kikyo dropped her head and hid her face from them. There was much more going on then they realized...but Kagome...the future Kagome was right...now was not the time to tell them. They had enough distractions as it is...was...will be... 

"Wait," Kuwabara strained. "But if the future Kagome was here dead, and you are here dead, then your whole soul was here and you COULD have moved on again...right? Right? Hey guys!?"

"Kikyo?" Kagome whispered, "do you know where this barrier is?" 

Kikyo smiled sadly again and nodded. "You showed to me once before...I can take you there should you choose to go."

Kurama wrapped his arms around Kagome's shoulders in a fierce hug. "You will not die!" he exclaimed rather desperately.

"It does not seem that I have a choice," she whispered and turned silently into his embrace and clung to him with a vigor that matched his own determined hold. "But I will stay with you as long as I can...that I can promise...."

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So, did I confuse everybody??? lol. I think I may have successfully set up the remainder of the story! It will all make sense before the end, I promise! I will be gone for about a month...read my profile in place of author's notes. Any information on updating will be posted there...

Thanks to all you loyal readers that have stuck with me for so long! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Sylvannastar 

Did you know that spell check doesn't like the word poopie? It was determined to turn this word into "potpie" ! . but it just did not have the same effect.....


	59. Behind the Barrier

Hello everyone...I know that it took me a very long time to update this story again, but after that last chapter...I was kinda discouraged with the story when I received so many reviews telling me that I confused most readers. I feel that I must have done a rather bad job of explaining some of the theories involved with temporal mechanics. I failed miserably and couldn't find a better way to explain what I was trying to say. If you were one of the confused readers, then I do apologize, but after many more attempts to simplify it further, I just managed to confuse myself. So any explanation will have to come from a source other than myself since I seem to have burnt out on researching time and its nature.

Anyway, for those of you that did understand what I was talking about and those of you that are going to continue to read regardless of whether or not you figured it all out, this chapter is for you.

Also, I would like to thank the various people that nominated, seconded, and voted for my story at the Inuyasha Fanguild for best crossover! (Which I recently discovered that I won!).I was very surprised and happy when I received the notification that this story was being considered for the polls, and it was an honor to find that there were enough readers out there that liked the story, (even with all its cliches) to vote for it. So thank you all!

Enjoy...

Sylvannastar

Behind the Barrier

Kagome tried without success to filter out the angry vibes sizzling off of several of her friends and one tense kitsune walking mere inches behind her heels. They were crowding her, though they called it "protection." She grimaced at the ground, realizing that one simple misstep on her part would send most of the group crashing to the ground. The mental image would have been slightly amusing to her if it hadn't involved her being at the bottom of the pile...

They had been walking for several hours and so far, no one had muttered a single complaint. Strange as it may seem, each member of the team was currently occupied with their own thoughts. Kagome had expected them to continue probing and demanding answers and explanations. It was unlike them to have such a passive response to something like this.

The silence seemed so heavy in Reikai's lifeless atmosphere. Kagome took a brief look around her and ended up staring at the pale pink of the sun filtering through the lavender sky. It was a pretty sight, but was missing the most essential thing to make it truly beautiful. Kagome absently noticed the lack of birds and insects that gave the sky of her own world life. Life...

_Am I really going to die? I know that I would eventually, but this...I never actually though about being dead before. _Kagome continued to stare at the sky as she followed the red and white robes of Kikyo's silent figure. _Sure I've thought about dying lots of times. It's hard not to when your life is in danger all the time. But I never really thought about being dead._ _It must have been so hard on her, _Kagome thought and looked back down at her incarnate.

Kikyo easily ignored them all with the same ease that she had ignored things in the past. Kagome almost admired the other girl's ability to tune out the negativity that was sending shivers down her own spine.

Kagome was abruptly taken from her thoughts by the change in the air. The hum of magic, strong magic, informed her they were close to their destination before Kikyo ever spoke up.

"Here," Kikyo said and stopped.

The others shuffled to a halt behind her and spread out in a line to stare at the place she indicated with the delicate wave of her hand.

"I don't see anything." Yusuke glared and braced his legs apart to keep balance on the slight slope of the hillside they had stopped at.

"There is nothing here!" Botan exclaimed in surprise.

"No," Kuwabara corrected her. "There is definitely something here. I can feel it."

Kagome ignored them in favor of watching Kikyo. The other miko was standing with her head bowed slightly and her body relaxed and calm. Kikyo was waiting patiently for Kagome to move.

"What kind of barrier is this?" Kurama finally spoke up. "It is like none other that I have ever seen before."

"What barrier?" Yusuke insisted and pointed at Kikyo. "She led us to nothing."

"It is her barrier," Kikyo answered and turned her soulful eyes on Kagome. "It is of her making."

Kurama gave the dead priestess a dark look before facing Kagome again. The worry on her face made him roil with anger inside because he could not protect her from everything. He couldn't stomach the idea of a life without her and the notion of her dying only served to strengthen his vow to protect her at all costs.

"What do you mean that it is unlike any other you have seen, Fox?" Hiei asked from behind him.

Kurama didn't bother to turn around before answering. "Barriers are created to either contain or to protect. This one does both. It keeps whatever is inside from getting out. And what is outside from getting in."

"Kikyo," Kagome finally stepped forward and stood even with the other girl. "Do you know what is behind this thing?"

"All you said to me was that you had sealed away a hanyou. I do not know any more then that."

"So there may not even be a jewel shard here?" Yusuke demanded impatiently.

"Perhaps," Kikyo agreed. 

Kagome firmed her posture and defiantly raised her chin. "Well, if I made it, I can break it."

She reached out her hands and walked forward until the air in front of her shimmered and resisted her pushing. The feeling of the magic that created this wall around her present goal felt so familiar to her that she gasped in surprise and dropped her hands to her sides.

"Kagome!" Kurama grabbed for her hands in concern.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Botan worried.

Kagome shook her head. "It just surprised me!" she exclaimed. This barrier feels like the ones between worlds."

"Oh, I- huh?" Botan stopped what she was about to say to stare at Kagome as if she had suddenly grown two heads.

"You mean there is another world behind there?" Kuwabara asked.

Hiei smacked him in the back of the skull. "Idiot."

"No, but there are similarities that I can feel..." Kagome explained. She aborted her hesitant statement and doggedly pressed forward again after freeing herself from Kurama's grip. She went back to her task with a renewed vigor and tensed when the blade at her hip began to burn her side. She had to step back and remove it before glancing at Hiei in confusion. Hiei merely took the blade from her hands and motioned for her to continue while he studied the katana. Kagome gave her sword a look of curious longing before turning back to her goal.

The shimmer in the air began to break in visible waves to the others and Inuyasha muttered a curse under his breath. "I can use the Tetsuseiga," he pointed out to the others.

"No you can't," Kikyo returned. "This barrier has some of the characteristics of the miko who made it inherent in its very structure. And your sword is a demon blade after all. It would be purified before it could even crack this shield."

"It's made with Miko energies?" Hiei frowned. He stared at the sword that he had made for Kagome in sudden understanding. "I forged this myself, but its original material is demonic by origin. The reaction between them is to be expected." He paused when another thought stuck him. "So _we_ can not pass through..."

"You can't," Kuwabara taunted. "But I bet I could." He did a little dance for his small victory over the little fire demon and broke the quiet with a loud chortle.

"Shut up!" Botan hissed at him and wrung her hands together while Kagome pressed against the invisible structure parting them from the sealed hanyou. A clawed hand came to rest in reassurance against her shoulder and she reached up to grasp that hand while it was offered. "She'll be fine, Inuyasha," she told him with a smile.

"But we don't know what's in there," he answered her with his worry for his best friend evident in his words.

Kurama tensed and fisted his hands at his sides. He was unable to follow her already because of the purification magic attached to the barrier spell and was as of yet unable to see a hole in the spell to slip through. Never had he seen a containment spell so well manifested as it was here. His pride in his future mate's abilities was shadowed by the threat that hovered with so much malice over them all.

The jewel and the demon after it were never far from his mind. Every instinct was on edge. Every nerve taut and every reflex set to defend and destroy. He wasn't surprised to feel the swivel of his ears moving on top of his head, but he was very aware of Youko's lack of commentary for the past few hours. He could only assume that with the both of his counterparts so close to the surface in the face of recent developments, that they were all sharing this moment alike. Truly one for once, for however brief a time that it might be...

He didn't like the way that he had to let Kagome do this thing on her own. He hated his inability to offer her his help and support as she faced another sudden change in her life. The consequences of her time travel had dealt with only a vague issue of secrecy until now. Kikyo's revelations had altered Kagome's view of her own reality and he could only hope that she would turn to him if it became too much to handle as time went on. He couldn't change anything for her, but he would be there when she needed him. This, she had to do alone.

Kagome felt the tangled vibrations of magic but made no attempt to identify them past a very shallow exploration to discover the key to bringing it down. She instinctively knew the essence of her own personal energy as well as the faint throb of the shikon calling to her. The other forces at work were less personal and so, that much more intriguing.

A strange strand of magical binding whispered through her senses and Kagome reached out to grab it as if it were a physical thing that she could capture in her hands. The purity of her own powers rose up unbidden by her and flared through the air until the shimmering that surrounded her became a blinding globe of light that circled a wide clearing. One more steady push and Kagome found herself inside of the barrier and facing something that broke her heart. Curled in a ball in the center of the barrier, was the pale figure of a hanyou. 

Like all the others, Kurama had to shield his eyes from the sudden flare of magic and light. When the glare had receded enough for him to peer through the brilliance, he automatically searched for Kagome. She was missing from his sight, but he could tell she was still there with them. It was only the barrier that separated them now. And he had faith that bring it down, she would.

"Damnit!" Inuyasha yelled. "Where is she?!"

"She's inside," Kikyo answered and folded her hands in front of her. "Do not worry so. She is stronger than you give her credit for."

"You were the one that always insisted she was just a pale imitation," he grumbled back. "Since when did you get so much confidence in her?"

Kikyo looked at him steadily until he began to get more flustered under her unwavering gaze. "Since she did what I could not," Kikyo finally answered.

"And what was that?" Yusuke huffed in annoyance. This twisted tale was nothing but a headache to him. All he was currently concerned about was the continued health of all his friends and the completion of this mission...oh and a good fight might be nice, but that was something that he already knew was unavoidable. They still had to find and defeat that Naraku character and all his mobs. As soon as they managed to find the single piece of jewel that had eluded them so far.

"Everything."

The tentai's gave the other miko a strange look and kept a wary eye on her. She made less and less sense with every word she spoke. But this was in fact, no time to be analyzing a woman long dead when the living and breathing girl they had loyally followed here was once again taken from their presence and their protection.

What she had found inside of that circle of light was a mystery they could only wait to discover. Kagome would return to them, but with what?....

Kagome's reaction to her discovery was violent and sudden. She controlled the urge to retch by cupping a shaking hand over her mouth. She tottered several steps forward until the details of her victim were forever etched into her memory. Two pale pointed ears were limply pivoted forwards and a long frizzy tail was trailing in the dust. Small clawed hind paws, much like Shippo's animal like legs, were drawn up to the chest of a small child, appearing no more then eight or nine as human's age. Longs stringy strands of pale lavender hair clung in loose curls over the child's sleeping face. The aura of abandonment and sadness was only shadowed by a loneliness that clung to her much the same way that it did to Kikyo.

The strangled sob was muffled between her fingers. As she approached the figure she realized to her horror that the figure trapped inside the barrier was not sleeping like she had first presumed but wide awake and staring straight at her through a pair of frightened grey eyes.

"Oh, no," she whispered. She knew that her legs were visibly trembling as she faced the lonely gaze of the creature huddled with her arms wrapped around her dirty knees. "Oh, Kami-sama...How could I have...?" Kagome felt the pressure in her chest increase when the little girl met her eyes and she saw the tiniest flicker of hope in those grey depths.

"Is it safe now?" the tiny figure whispered hoarsely, as if new to speaking. "Can I go home now?"

Kagome fell to her knees in front of the still child and hesitantly reached out a hand to trace a familiar binding necklace that hung much too large around her neck. The alternating black beads and white claws that formed the necklace were worn and chipped where the child seemed to have spent a great deal of time rubbing them between her fingers. Kagome stilled her fidgeting when a small clawed hand reached up and gently covered her nervous fingers.

Kagome felt her tears stream in two lines down her cheeks as the child took comfort in her presence.

"I knew you would come back like you said you would," the child informed her. "I knew that you would."

Kagome reached out and nodded as she took the little hanyou into her arms for a tender but intense hug. She was rewarded by a tiny sigh of contentment from the innocent as she snuggled into her hold as far as she could. Kagome stayed there on her knees for a long time while she tried to stifle her own poor sobs and suppress the quaking of her legs. She was certain that if she attempted to stand now, she would only fall again.

Time, already such an abused thing, seemed to stand still and rush past at the same time for the torn Miko in training. The anger and animosity that Kagome expected and felt she deserved, were missing from the youth in her arms. Instead, contentment and genuine relief were all that Kagome could pick up from the lonesome girl. The whispered humming from the young girl nestled against her was so poignant it hung in the air like the pure tones of bells. She wasn't sure how much time passed with them like that, and frankly, she didn't care.

Kagome finally managed to get her voice back and pressed her cheek against the dirty and matted lavender hair. "I'm so sorry," she whispered to the girl. "So sorry..."

A short giggle erupted from the skinny frame and made the child's shoulders shake. "You said that before," she said and continued clinging to Kagome's waist. "I remember. So, can we go now?" she asked again and looked up into Kagome's eyes. The wistful look was not lost to the older girl's senses and Kagome nodded and stood up with the child still wrapped around her middle.

"We can go now," Kagome confirmed past the lump in her throat. "Right now."

A full smile bloomed across grubby cheeks and Kagome found herself smiling hesitantly in return. She hugged the thin form to her tightly as she stepped with greater determination to edges of the still glowing dome over them. A spark of anger and focused determination lit her emotion charged eyes as she firmed her mouth and glared at the force of her own magic. The barrier trembled and pulsed long before she ever came in contact with it. She pushed with one hand at the straining wall and found it much more pliable then it had been on her trip inside. It shivered in response to her touch and easily burst apart in a shower of sparks and light that bellied the strength with which it was created.

The rest of the modern shard hunters and Reikai employees waited with increasing impatience and worry as time slipped through their fingers. Immediately after Kagome's disappearance through the barrier, the others had begun to grow anxious. There were so many unanswered questions about this barrier, this hanyou, this jewel shard, this question of time, that there was not a single one of them not waiting with baited breath for that slim figure to return.

As unhappy as they all were with the situation, not a single one of them made the slightest attempt to alleviate their pent up frustration on one of their teammates or companions the way that they would usually have done. Yusuke and Kuwabara especially managed to keep themselves on track while preparing for whatever demon would emerge with Kagome. The minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness and each beat of their hearts had them tensing and clenching, stretching muscles one by one as they prepared themselves for some sort of action.

A fluctuation in the now visible dome of light made them reach for weapons or crouch in various stances in case they had to rush in and save their friend from some sad fate. A tremble in the magic of the barrier was all that preluded the shattering of the structure in a flash similar to the one that swallowed Kagome as she had stepped through it. The air around them charged with the free floating magic and sank into the ground at their feet.

Kagome felt the spell give and disappear under her fingertips even though she had not consciously made any effort to break the spell yet. She found herself suddenly back where she had started, only this time with her new companion in tow. Both girls blinked at the suddenness of the barrier's fall and stared wide eyed at the collection of people standing tensed and ready in front of them.

A silence fell that rivaled the natural stillness of the land of the dead and the first sound to break that awful silence was the muffled shriek as the child tried to bury her face in the dark cloud of Kagome's hair. Every immediately snapped back to attention and reality to examine the haunted look on Kagome's face and the grimy bundle of rags clutched in her arms.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha announced in relief. He felt the reassuring squeeze of Botan's hand on his shoulder.

"Kagome," Kurama chorused in a much quieter but equally rejoice full way.

All eyes shifted to the audibly whimpering creature in their friends arms. Kagome simply stared at them with an unfamiliar broken and defeated look on her face. In a flash so sudden that they missed the transition between them, Kagome grinned a reassuring smile at them all and gently lowered her burden to the ground until the slim back paws like those of a cat touched the ground.

They heard her voice soothing the terrified creature in the stillness.

"Shhh! They won't hurt you. They are friends," she assured the small hanyou still trying its best to hide in Kagome's arms. "Please, trust me," she continued but winced at her own words.

"Kagome, who is that?" Inuyasha asked of his best friend but kept his voice low when the small figure only trembled harder when he spoke.

Kagome rubs soothing circles around the child's back and choose the simplest answer that she had. "She's a hanyou...just like you."

The tiny child sucked in a shuddering breath and leaned back to stare with frightened but questioning grey eyes at Kagome. "Like me?" she whispered soft and disbelieving. "They aren't here...to hurt me?"

"No," Kagome encouraged the girl. "They won't hurt you. They are friends," she repeated.

The child gave them a sideways glance from under her tangled and dirty hair before darting back to face Kagome. "Truely?" she persisted with less fear and more hope.

Kagome nodded and turned the little girl around to face the others but allowed her to shrink against her stomach in false security. Kagome quietly pointed at the others one by one and introduced the silent team staring with disbelief at the pair kneeling in the Reikai dirt.

The child took a hesitant glance at each of them before returning to gaze in something akin to awe at Inuyasha's towering form. The intimidating red of his dated clothing or the scowl on his face did nothing to deter her from examining him at great detail. She finally tipped her head to the side and asked a question of her own. "Are you really a half demon?" she pursued.

"Keh! What's it look like?!" he crossed his arms and flipped his ears in her direction.

The child comically mimicked the motion with her own mobile points and stuck a dirty finger in her mouth. She whispered loudly for Kagome's benefit around her finger. "He must be really strong," she praised and stared at the dog hanyou.

Hiei snorted quietly at that statement but refrained from comment at Kagome's narrow look.

Yusuke wasn't as cooperative and crossed his own arms in a pose meant to appear more intimidating then it actually was. "What makes you say that?" He frowned at her.

The child pulled the finger from her mouth to point at Inuyasha with it. "Because he's still alive," she said matter of fact.

A muffled snigger from Kuwabara turned several disapproving stares his way. The larger human took immediate notice of the change of atmosphere around him and muttered a quick apology.

"Kagome?" Botan edged in and gave the tiny girl a nervous smile. "The shard?"

"Oh, I forgot!" Kagome blinked and looked back down at the young hanyou now staring around her in immense curiosity.

Kikyo lowered her head from where she had been watching the small interlude to study the sway of the soft grasses under her feet. It was obvious to her the moment the barrier had gone down that the shard had been found. But...she did not envy her incarnate the job ahead of her. With a soft sigh of her own, Kikyo offered up a quick prayer that Kagome could find the strength she needed to do what she had to do.

Kurama watched in fascination as his future lover tended to the strange child with all the love and care of a concerned parent, even though she had no actual ties to the little girl. He was dedicated to watching every movement, listening to every sound that anyone dared to make as he furiously searched for the slightest sign of danger to his love even if it came from within the group itself.

At the reminder of the jewel shard, he turned his full attention back to the surprised girl to find that she was steadily getting more and more pale until it seemed that all traces of blood had left her veins. He moved to her side in concern and ignored the jumpy child while he tended to Kagome. "What is it?" he demanded and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It's here," Kagome answered horrified. "We found the shard."

He met her stricken gaze with gentle frown of confusion.

"But that's a good thing, right?" Yusuke shook his head at the unpredictable couple. "That's what we wanted," he continued.

Kagome turned her tear brightened eyes to face Yusuke and simply answered, "It's here. We have to see Koenma-sama."

Yusuke and the others looked to Botan and she nodded to their unspoken plea. "I can get us there in no time."

A portal to the main office of Reikai swelled to life at Botan's command and they hesitantly filed toward it. No one seemed to be in a hurry to cross its boundaries though, and they all hung back uncertainly at its mouth.

"What is that?" the child asked. She turned to stare at the dark hole swirling in mid air.

"It's a portal, kid," Yusuke answered the girl's curiosity. "Waiting to take us to the other side of Reikai." Yusuke was just as reluctant to step through and end this case, as everyone else, but there was only a limited amount of time...he shook his head. And he was leader, so he would have to take those first steps.

The child hanyou watched one of the strangers stalk though the portal and backed closer to the human at her back. "Waiting to take us there for what?" she persisted in a subdued manner as the others followed that example and disappear inside the curtain of darkness.

"I don't know." Kagome whispered back and circled her arms loosely around her new charge. "I just don't know. But what ever it is, I'll be there with you." she promised and ushered the girl and Kurama to the portal to pass through its depths at last. The case was over...now there was many questions to answer.


	60. The Rule of Hanyou

Some of you had some very interesting impressions of the poor hanyou I wrote into the story last chapter. I must say that I really enjoyed the reviews and that a few of you were very close to understanding the role the child is going to play. She is NOT Kurama and Kagome's child, though I did think about doing that. In the end I chose not to, for reasons that you will understand later in this chapter. As a matter of fact, she is not related to any of the established characters. But she does have a important but short part to play in the story. I will get back to the Kag Kur romance part in the next chapter. Sorry about that!

This next chapter is a bit less complicated then that last few, but that is to be expected. I don't think that any of the upcoming chapters will be anywhere near as confusing as 58 was. Thank you all for staying with me and reading. I have put all my other stories on hold until this one is completed. Come August, a year will have passed since I began posting. My goal is to have this completed before the end of next month. Well, here's to hoping!

Sylvannastar

The Rule Of Hanyou

Koenma hurried through the long halls of the central office until he managed to skid into the door frame of his own large room where his desk was currently being used as a table to feed and seat several of his long away detectives and their new friends. His official robs tangled around his ankles so he was forced to slow his steps into a hopping shuffle that did nothing to increase the dignified image that he had been hoping to use to impress the large group. In his teenage form, he found that others managed to respond in a more respectful manner than his child form, and there were supposed to be strangers with the tentai this time. At least that was the garbled message George had managed to give him out.

He shambled into the room with a slight trip before righting himself and glancing around at the various occupants. His original four detectives, their ferry girl assistant, his new miko, and the hanyou from the past were all familiar faces. But the other two were new.

The red and white robed Miko he recognized from Kagome's silent meeting on his screen, before it had crashed, as the incarnate walking dead girl Kikyo. The other was a dirty faced child complete with wide grey eyes and curly lavender hair. He gave a slight nod to the two and acknowledged their presence in his office. He saw the miko nod once in return and the young child tugging on Kagome's leg waved energetically at him from her place sandwiched between Kagome and Kurama.

Yusuke and Kuwabara had seemed to come to some sort of understanding and were quietly keeping one another company against the back wall. The two of them in close proximity without throwing punches was an odd sight, but Koenma did not comment on it. Hiei and Botan were closer to the hanyou from the past while Kurama was predictably inches behind Kagome. The older miko was the only one left standing alone.

Koenma seated himself at his desk and propped his elbows on the worn wooden surface. "Welcome back," he began and took a deep breath to begin the speech he had prepared on his way over.

"Koenma," Yusuke interrupted and pointed rudely at Kikyo. "You have some explaining to do."

"Huh?" So much for speeches. Koenma furrowed his brow and looked between that condemning finger and the calm priestess several times before admitting to his ignorance. "Explain what?"

"Why the hell she is still here, for one. How the hell you manage to govern souls without knowing what they are, for another. The whole time thing if that is even possible, and what the hell happened back there!" Yusuke finished and waved his hand about angrily.

Koenma blinked at the irate detective before clenching his spirit infused pacifier between his teeth to yell back. "How the hell should I know?!" His body suddenly shrank back down to toddler size as his tantrum began. "I've been stuck here trying to hold the last remaining ties to the barrier together. Surrounded by incompetent ogres and baka oni while you guys are off on a nature hike through the three worlds! You not only manage to discover the dead incarnate of our Kagome picnicking out in the middle of nowhere, but also go and adopt a child on your way here! Did you guys ever find that damn dog demon playing hopscotch across the very broken barriers? Or find that damn shard yet?!"

The others all stared at the screaming Jr leader of Reikai in shock. Koenma had yelled at them many times over, but he had never been so serious about it before. It was easy to see that the little ruler was stressed. The frustration was rolling off of him in waves. The tired circles under his eyes told of the long hours that he must have pulled and the sleepless nights that followed. He was visibly shaking from exhaustion and seemed tight with tension.

The older Miko was surprisingly enough the first to speak. She said quietly. "You very much remind me of your father, Koenma-sama."

"M-My father?!" he sputtered in surprise. Koenma sank back into the seat of his chair and stared at the unaffected priestess. "Hmm, You are Kikyo?" he asked and ignored the reference to his slight loss of temper.

She inclined her head to the child sized ruler in acknowledgment.

"I don't suppose you could tell me why you were holding up a tree in Reikai?" he sighed without much hope for an answer.

"I was waiting." she responded calmly.

"Waiting for what?" he eyed her suspiciously. "What do you know about all this?"

"Koenma-sama," Botan interrupted. "Its just that Kikyo-sama can't pass over and be reborn until her soul is reunited," the ferry girl explained.

"That is not possible," Koenma said and shuffled through a few worn files until he found what he was looking for and waved it under the ferry girl's nose. "It says quite clearly that the priestess Kikyo died and was reincarnated... Several times in fact." He then pointed to the sad eyed Kagome. "There is the proof."

"That is the other part we want you to explain," Yusuke huffed. "All that time crap and multiple pieces of souls and jewels and stuff..." he trailed off at a loss as to how to explain what he did not understand.

Koenma pursed his lips into a thin line and thought hard about what Yusuke was attempting to say. Botan did a fast summary of what had gone on and the Miko occasionally corrected her until Koenma was drumming his fingers on the table top and thinking hard to himself. "The flow of time was disrupted over five hundred years ago. It seems strange that all the effects of that would all be in this time period..."

"That is not an explanation!" Inuyasha spat out, obviously agreeing with Yusuke on this. 

"It wasn't meant to be," Koenma glared at him. "If I tried to explain something as complex as time and time travel to you guys I would be here until you died of old age and longer. It will have to suffice that you know that certain things can be duplicated or linked, depending on what theory you follow." 

Kagome listened halfheartedly to the loud conversation and kept a hand on the shoulders of the little girl slowly nodding off in her lap. Kurama was a silent pillar of strength at her back and she was very appreciative of his unspoken support at the moment.

Her head shot up when the spirit world Jr ruler demanded an answer to his own questions without giving them the satisfaction of answers to their own first.

"Did you find the shard or not?"

All heads swivelled to Kagome and she tightened her grip in the child resting against her. She debated lying to them for a few precious moments before sighing in defeat. "It's here."

"Where?" Inuyasha demanded abruptly. "We have to finish this up and get that bastard in the past," he reminded them all.

Kagome winced and plucked uncertainly at the ragged clothes of the child's shoulders. "I..." she began and shook her head when the words failed her. Instead, she rubbed a soothing hand over the dozing child's back before lifting the hem of her shirt to show a long jagged scar running up her spine and ending at the base of her neck where the light glinted off of a small pink sliver of crystal.

"Oh, no!" Botan gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

Kagome let her hand hover over the small piece of shikon before she lightly ran the tip of one finger over its glassy surface. When she looked up again, the others could see the twin trails of tears falling silently to the point of her chin before trembling and dropping to the floor. Her stricken expression shared her apprehension and her sorrow about this turn of events.

Kagome let the shirt drop again and clenched her fingers into fists. "If we take it now, she will die," she told the silent group quietly.

Koenma sat back down with a plop of dismay. Was it possible for anything to get worse?! He noticed that the others were dealing with this news in much the same fashion as he was. "So," he muttered. "It was here the entire time. And we never knew it."

"Koenma-sama," Kagome said with several questions vying for importance on her lips. "Why?" she asked him, her apparent confusion obvious. "Why would I have done such a thing? Why would I have brought her here to the Reikai?"

Koenma considered his words carefully before answering her. "Well, Hanyou's are special cases. You see, they are neither human nor demon. They are both. And the barrier recognizes that and they are granted easy access and movement between worlds in a way that any full blooded person can not. There is a certain amount of resistance to moving that is determined by the strength of the one attempting to cross. When that resistance is cancelled by her mixed blood, she would have been in danger from both demons and humans. Reikai would have been the only place that was free from both that she would have been insured safety."

"Safety from what?" Kuwabara asked for clarification.

"From everyone." Inuyasha answered bitterly. "Hanyou's are accepted by nobody, Humans or Demons. Humans only see a demon threat and demons can only see the human weaknesses. That scar," he gestured to the child with a gleam of compassion in his golden eyes, "was probably from one of the few creatures she ever learned to trust and let close enough. Probably someone who shares the same blood as she does...family."

"He's right," Koenma agreed. "That is why you don't see that many hanyou's around. They are usually killed off when young by one or both of their parents or by the other demons or humans in the community that they are born into."

"That's awful," Botan gulped. "So what do we do now?" she asked in a very subdued murmur.

Kikyo again spoke up and forced them to face the reality of the situation that none of them were willing to face. "You must take it," she answered tonelessly.

"WHAT!?" Kuwabara yelled loudest amidst the denials and gasps of horror the others managed to strangle out.

Everyone grew quiet and still when Kuwabara's voice proved loud enough to wake the child back up. They watched her yawn and stretch before giving them all a sleepy smile. Her grey eyes crinkled sweetly at the corners at her wide smile and she shoved at the long curls hanging in her eyes with one dirty hand. She looked upward at her savior with that smile firmly in place and grabbed Kagome's hand in her own clawed grasp.

"I-I couldn't!" Kagome whispered as she looked at that contented grin.

"You have to." Kikyo said and raised her chin. "It must be done."

Kagome stared at her in horror. "How could I?!" she demanded harshly. "Could you do it?!"

Kikyo stared at her, the first flickers of pain in her own eyes. "No," she answered. "But then, it is not for me to do."

Kagome shook her head violently at her incarnate while the others remained silent and watchful. "I will not." she finally said with a firmness that could not be broken. "I WILL NOT!"

Kurama swiftly growled a warning at the other miko and wrapped his arms around Kagome's shoulders. He offered her no words, since there were none that would suffice. Instead, he gave her all of his backing and support. There was no way that he would let anyone force her to do such a thing. And as much as he knew that they needed that shard, there had to be another way. "It's okay, Love," he whispered to her. "We'll find a way, even if it takes us a lifetime of looking..."

"Unfortunately we don't have a life time," Koenma told the spirit fox in a hard voice. "The miko is right. It must be done."

"Koenma-sama!" Botan whimpered through her fingers. Her widened pink eyes pleaded with her employer to take back those harsh words. "You can't mean that!" She shook her head slowly when he returned her look with a fierce glare of his own.

"I do," the Jr ruler answered just as forcefully. "What choice do we have?" he demanded of the cringing ferry girl who was taking the brunt of his anger. "If you can think of any alternative, it must be done now because we DO NOT have the time to waste if we want to finish this."

"Kagome-sama?" a soft childish voice interrupted them. "What are they talking about? What do they have to take?"

Kagome stared down at the child looking up at her so trustingly. Her youthful features were soft and innocent but her eyes held a wisdom far beyond her years. Kagome couldn't force any words past her lip to either explain or pass off the question and shook her head silently. A small rosebud mouth pursed in thought and she scrutinized the quiet miko with a long look.

When she finally released Kagome from that intense look, she faced the yelling toddler with a firmness unusual for one her age. "He wants to take my crystal, doesn't he?" she asked of no one in particular. "Daddy said that if I lose it, I'd die. He said that it would keep me alive so that my mommy couldn't hurt me anymore," she stated, confirming Inuyasha's words. "You told me that bad people would want to take it away from me. Is he a bad person? Why does he want me to die?" she asked pointing to Koenma, and looking back at the speechless Kagome.

Koenma felt a great weight of shame and guilt fill him. He knew that he was going to have to take the shard, but he had never had to play the bad guy before. It hurt to do something so terrible to an innocent. "I'm not a bad person," he replied to the child who swung her head around to give him a dubious glare. "But it is my job to stop bad people from doing bad things."

"But I'm not a bad person!" the child exclaimed and let go of Kagome's hand to cross her little arms over her chest.

"I know," Koenma told her gently. "But there is a very very bad person out there who is after that stone, and we have to stop him."

The little girl blinked several times and thought about this. "A bad man?" she questioned and saw several heads nod. "Is he hurting people too?" she asked. "Like my mommy did?"

"He has hurt many people," Kikyo informed the hanyou with a far away sad look of her own. "And he will hurt many more if he isn't stopped."

The hanyou frowned and stared at the dead miko with curiosity. "He hurt you?" she asked with a perceptivity that seemed out of place with one so young.

Kikyo met the child's lonely gaze with one of her own to match it. "Yes," she answered simply.

The little girl abandoned her post beside Kagome's protective aura and took a position directly in front of the other miko. "What did he do?" she asked the girl that looked so much like Kagome.

"He tricked me, and I did some very bad things of my own because of it," the other miko answered truthfully. "And then he killed me."

The little girl's large grey eyes grew impossibly bigger. "You're dead?!" she squeaked and leaned forward in morbid curiosity. "Wow..."

Kikyo felt the beginning traces of humor tilt her lips into a smile. "I am," she confirmed with a nod and allowed the child to poke at her hands for a few moments.

"Does it hurt?" the child asked.

"Only when I think about the people that _I _hurt because of him," Kikyo answered softly. "Then it hurts."

The child traced little circles in the floor with her feet and kept her eyes downcast while she thought. Her little fingers moved up to play with the beads gracing her slim neck. "I'm not dead," she finally stated the obvious and met Kikyo's compassionate eyes once more. "But I still hurt sometimes when I remember too," she finished. "It hurts to be all alone."

Kagome gasped and alternated between leaning on Kurama for support and tensing in painful realization. The child had spent so long confined in a small bubble of energy that she had experienced a level of loneliness that only Kikyo could understand. The two stood together, facing one another with identical expressions of understanding. Kagome bit back a sob and turned in Kurama's arms so that she could hide her face from the scene. "Kurama..." she whispered and felt him respond by holding her close to him while she trembled. She leaned into his embrace and felt the stirring of his breath at her ear.

"It's okay, Kagome..." he assured her in a whisper. "It's okay."

"No," she whispered back. "No, it's not..." Kagome hid her face from the tragic couple still staring at one another until the child spoke again.

"If I were dead," she asked in a subdued manner, "could I stay with you?" she asked. "I don't wanna be alone anymore..."

Everyone contained their surprise at the child's words, and felt the tugging in their chest for the emptiness and unhappiness that clung to her hunched frame while she waited for a denial to her request. Kikyo was the most surprised by the child's soft question and shot a questioning glance at Kagome but the other girl was still crying silent tears while she looked with sadness on the child.

"I don't think that I could make that decision," Kikyo answered and placed her hand on one slumped shoulder in hopes of comforting the child.

"Wouldn't you want to be reborn?" Koenma asked her when the silence began to strain everyone's nerves worse then they already were. "You could live again..." he told her compassionately. 

The little hanyou shook her head firmly. "I don't wanna go back there," she stated. "Not yet."

"I think..." Koenma hesitated and shoved some files around on his desk top. "Hmmm..." He picked his rubber stamper up and set it back down several times before he faced them all again. A determined light in his eyes a small smirk made the silent occupants of the room narrow their eyes in anticipation. The little ruler had an idea. "I may be able to do something..." he told them flatly.

Several of the tentai's frowned at the hesitancy of those words, but waited for Koenma to elaborate on his thoughts.

"Kikyo-sama," the spirit ruler addressed the dead miko. "Your presence in spirit world in the form you are now in, is not particularly common. In order for a spirit to remain in residence here, they must give up all ties to the living realms. Since this is an impossibility for you at the moment, as is the alternative reincarnation, I have a solution that may prove beneficial to both you and me." Koenma jumped up onto his desk top and linked his hands behind his back. "How would you like a job?"

Everyone exchanged confused glances and turned back to the insistent toddler and the miko he had pinned under his gaze. Kikyo opened her mouth several times before she got past her confusion and asked him, "Doing what?"

Koenma grinned then, a wide smile that seemed so out of place in the depressed and tense atmosphere clouding the room. "Why, protecting me, of course!" he exclaimed. "Reikai does not have the defenses that it used to," he explained, "and headquarters," he gestured around them with a vague wave, "has need of some measure of security. Especially at a time like this when the barrier is failing. Your miko powers would be perfect for such a job."

A long pause followed this explanation before Yusuke growled out, "How the hell does that solve anything for us!?"

Koenma ignored the tentai and waited for Kikyo to answer. She seemed deep in thought as she considered his offer before she gave a slight nod in answer. He smiled happily and then turned to the hanyou watching them all silently beside the dead woman. "And you-" he stopped and frowned. "What is your name anyway, child?" he asked her.

A dirty finger was pulled from her mouth where she had been gnawing on it for a moment before she smiled brightly at the toddler. "My name is Kisa."

Koenma returned that smile, "Well, Kisa, how would you like to train with Kikyo-sama to become strong?" he asked her and chuckled at her enthusiastic nod and did not miss the way she reached up and clung to the stunned miko's hand. "You see, when you get stronger, and grow up a little more," he told her, "then you can help Kikyo-sama with her job. That barrier you were under stopped time from effecting you to some extent and now that you are free from it, you will age like any other spirit in Reikai. Kikyo-sama can easily take out any threats dealing with demonic energy and you can handle any other problems that may arrive here that require the strength of a demon to defeat it. You can be my Junior Security Officer."

Kisa eye's sparkled and she glanced excitedly between Kikyo and Koenma. It was obvious that she was more than okay with this plan and she skipped in happy circles around the red clad legs of the newest reikai employee.

"Good!" Koenma stated happily and clapped his hands together to mark the completion of some strenuous task. "Now all that is left to do is to finish what we started. Botan?" he requested and gestured to where Kisa was dancing in place. "I believe that _you_ still have a job to do..."

Botan clung to Inuyasha's hand and stared in shock at her boss. Of all things, this in not what she had been expecting. "I..." she hesitated and couldn't get over the feeling that this was too close to murder for her heart to handle. She worried her lower lip between her teeth and flinched when Koenma glared at her. "Right away sir," she whispered and shuffled forward to collect the child cheerfully chattering to her new miko supervisor and trainer.

"Kagome," Koenma reminded the other miko and gave her a sympathetic glance. "She'll need your help."

"I can't!" Kagome wailed. "I just can't!"

The child stopped her rejoicing and ran over to the other girl. Kisa took Kagome's limp hand in her clawed one and stroked the top of it. "It's okay," she assured her. "I want you to take it."

"I- I can't," Kagome pleaded to the little girl and sank to a crouch so that she meet her eyes levelly.

Kisa looked stricken for a moment and her big grey eyes filled with tears. "Please?" she asked, afraid that this chance might fade if she waited to long. "Please, Kagome-sama? I don't wanna be by myself anymore."

Kagome choked on her silent tears and crushed the trembling child to her in a strong hug. They clung together for several moments when Kisa gave a surprised cry and slumped in Kagome's arms.

"I'll take care of it now," Botan quietly informed them.

To the surprise of the others, the hanyou's body faded to nothing as well as Botan's when she approached the embracing couple until Kagome was left kneeling on the floor with a single jewel shard between her fingers while her great wracking sobs broke the stillness.

Kurama hastily joined her on the floor and gathered her into his own tight embrace and soothed her hair back with his own hand. The unnatural silences that seemed to be waiting on the sidelines since this journey began settled over them again. After all, what was there that anyone could say?


End file.
